Tracts consisting of observations about the saltness of the sea; an account of a statical hygroscope and its uses : together with an appendix about the force of the air's moisture : a fragment about the natural and preternatural state of bodies

DUKE

UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY

Treasure "Room

/&>u

^s^ue^e—

TRACTS

Confiding of

OBSERVATIONS

i r

About the •
S A L T N E S S of the S E A :
An Account of a
STATICAL HTGRO S C OPE
And its USES:

Together with an APPENDIX
about the
FORCE of the AIR'S MOISTURE ;

A FRAGMENT about the

NATURAL and PRETERNATURAL

STATE of BODIES.

By the Honourable ROBERT BOT LE.

To all which is premis'd

A SCEPTICAL DIALOGUE

About the POSITIVE or PRIVATIVE

NATURE of COLD:

With fome Experiments of Mr. BOTVS teferrM
to in that Difcourfe.

Bya Member of the R OT Ah SOCIETY.

London, printed by E.Flejber for R.Davk Bookfdlcr
in Oxford,* M DC LXXIV.

.

,

AN 5"o-;.

. . ..

ADVERTISEMEMT

O F THE

PtlBLISHER.

THE Reader of the
following Dialogue
may eafily conclude
from the beginning of it,
(where the7 Ofccaiion of the
Conference is let down ) that

A 2 if

42G229

An Aduertifement

if the Author had been fo
minded, it might have long
fince come abroad. But
though, as his backwardnefs
to publifh it kept it long ly-
ing by, firft in His hands, and j
then in Mine ; yet the Af-
finity it has with fome of the
enfuing Tra&s of Mr. Boyle,
and fome other of his Papers,
that he defign'd ( but was
hinder'd ) to have added to
them, engag'd me to take the

liber-

of the Vublijher.

liberty of publifhing it and
them all together : Which I
had fooner done than now I
do, if, by fome Accidents,
they had not been kept from
appearing for many weeks af-
ter they were quite printed
off.

42G239

il1

:

nnrn
niiq

A

CO

iff f ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥

OF THE

POSITIVE

O R

PRIVATIVE NATURE

C O L D.

A Sceptical Dialogue

Between

Carneadci) Themiftius, Eknthefius^
Vhilofoiius.

SECT. I.

^^H%1Q&l8S9&fy one ^e a^owe^ *° as^ Cxrrtff-
*<*«» what Book it is he is read-
ing with fo much attention ?

Cam. The Queftiori," Eleatbe*
rifts, is very allowable, and as
eafily anfwer'd, by faying, that what I was reading,
is our Friend Mr. Boyle* newly publifaed Hifktry
of Gold.

B Tl*

2 Of the Pvfitive^ or

Tkemiftitu» Your readinefs, Carneades, to an-
fwer, encourages me alfo to ask you a Qjeftion j
which (hall noc be , as probably you expect jt
ffioula. How you like this new Piece ? for I know
you would be too kind to/the Author, not to tell me
that he has detected fqme Old Errours , and made
difcovefy of Tome New Truths • but my Qieftibn
ftall be about what is"*my Wonder, as well as that
of divers others, who think it ftrange that a Writer
that has .deliver'd fo many Effects and other Pk<t-
nomnaot Co!d,-ft\6'M omit to tell us fo much as
whether heafferts it to.be a Pofnive Quality, or a
bare Privation of Heat ; as, fince Cardan ( in his
Tygrf\hVc Sultiliikfe ) fome other Learned Men,
2 id efpecially Cartm^ hathmaincatin'd.
.. Car.neades. You will not Wonder, if a Perfon that
you look upon, and I confefs not injurioufly, as
a Friend to Mr. Boyle, tell you, that this Author,
by the many Hiftories he has preferred us, and by
his not feeming to dare to determine the Contro-
vert you have mention'd , fhews, that he was
more follicitous to leflen his ignorance, than to
pretend to knowledge : And upon the obfervation
4-kftve made of his humour in general, I prefume
one principal reafonof his (ilence may be* that he
has not yet com pleated the trials he had defign'd
about Cold', and thinks, that in Abrtrufe Subjects,
fucbas this is, 'tis not fo convenient to deliver a
pofitive opinion of the Nature of it at the Begin-
ning/ as to referve itiox the latter End, after the
Hijftpry of the Phenomena ; when the nature of
*he thing inquired into may, as it we're, fpontane-
oafly Refult from the Considerations fuggeiledby
the precedent matters of Fact furvey'd together.

Privative Nature of Cold. 5

Elmberiw. If fuch a wannefs were indeed the
(notive of your friends filence, I fhall eafily ex-
cufe it ; and perhaps think too , that the like
would not mis- become Naturahfts on many o-
ther occafions. And yet I do not diflike Tbcmifti-
ui% queftionj for 'tis one thing to venture up*
on declaring the adequate Nature of Cold, and
another to determine, Whether it be a Posi-
tive , or a Privative Quality } The latter at-
tempt importing a much lefs venture than the for-
mer.

Carneades. I will not pretend to know the ve-
ry Reafons that induc'd the Author fikntly to pafs
by this Controverfie ; but having been once pre-
fent, when he had occafion to difcourfe of it, I
then conje&ur'd , that among his Experiments of
Cold , that are notyetpubhuYd, there maybe forfte
uncommon ones, that may have fuggefted to him
fcruples, which oblig'd him to forbear declaring
himfelf, till he had clear 'd them, which thofe that
are unacquainted with fuch Tryals, may probably
have never thought of.

Themiftiiu* If what you call a Controverfie,
were indeed worthy of that name, I fhould not un-
willingly allow of your Friends filence j but the
Opinion broach'd by Cardan, and adopted by Mr.
Da Cartes and others, feei^s to me fo devoid, not
only of reafon, but of all appearance of it, thn
me thinks one that has delivet'd fuch considerable
Effects of Cold, as Mr. Boyle has done, may well
afcnbe to their caufe, at leaft, a Pofmve Nature ;
and, without at all being guilty of boldnefs , reject
^ an Opinion, that is not only barely an Errour, buc an
Extravagance, and pet haps a plain Abfurdky,

B2 C*r-

4 Of the Pofitive, or

Cameades- Poflibly the Gentleman we are fpeak-
ing of, may be wary and fceptical enough to reckon
among difficult things, not onely the declaring the
adequate Nature of Cold, and the manner of its
Operations } but the demonftrating whether it be
a Pojitive Quality or not. And though I will not
take upon me to know his thoughts about that fub-
je&, which, perhaps, are grounded upon fome
of his peculiar Experiments and Notions ; yet, for
difcourfe fake , I am content to debate with Tbemi-
/tins. Whether or no the Opinion he fo feverely
cenfures, be not only erroneous, as, for ought ap-
pears , Mr, Boyle himfelf may be found to have
thought it j but alfo, as Tkemiftifa would have it ,
abfurd.

Themiftiiis. I readily accept of your offer ; for
it cannot be an unpleafant entertainment to obferve
the arts whereby one that I know will not fpeak im-
pertinently, will ondeavour to make Reafon elude
he cleareft Teftimonies of Senfe. And though I
night prefs you with the concurrent authority of
irifatle, and all the Philofophers that have liv'd
etween his time, and thofe of that extravagant
''ellow Cardan ; yet I fhall rather employ, to con-
vince you, the aurhority and reafons of a grand
Leader among your New Philofophers, who being
a gret broacher of Paradoxes, and having upon
that fcore written Books exprefly againft Ari/lotle^
was not like to have fided with him, unlefs the
Evidence of Truth had, as it were, rreceflitated him
to do fo.

Cameades. I prefume, you mean the Learn'd and
Subtle Gaffendtu^hom I am glad you have pitched
upon for your Caufes Champion, not only becuife

in

Privative Nature of 'Cold. 5

in defending the common opinion, he waves the
common practice of troubling his Readers with a
multitude of Authorities, which to me, in fuch a
cafe as this, would fignifie very little, and betakes
himfelf to arguments ; but becaufe, being fo mo-
dern and judicious a Writer, we may well fuppofe
him/o have fumm'd up and improv'd what can be
faid in behalf of the caufe he maintains. Upon
which account, I iliall be excus'd from anfwering
impertinent Objections againft the Opinion I de-
fend, and from the trouble of ranging about among
other Authors for more weighty Arguments than
thofe, which the difproving of his will lliew to be
unfatisfa&ory.

Them/lias* I am glad you nam'd the Author I
meant, Carneades > for I apprehended you had not
met with what he fayes upon this fubjec-t. : becaufe
Icouldfcarce imagine, that an intelligent perfon,
after having read his arguments , will doubt of a
Truth he hath fo clearly evinc'd by them. But fince
I perceive you have feen what he has written, I
fliall, without farther preamble, propofe his Rea^
fons to you, though not in the very fame order
wherein he has couch'd them.

Elemherius. But before you begin them, give me
leave to ask Carneades a fhort queftion , whofe an-
fwer will, I fuppofe, conduce, if not be neceflary,
to the clearing of the ftate of the Controverfie be-
twixt you. For 'tis one thing to deny belief to the
yeceiv'd Opinion, that Cold is a Pofitive Quality,
and another thing to alTert, that 'tis but a Privation
of Heat} fince, .if Carneades does undertake the
latter of thefetwo, he muft bring pofitive Argu-
ments to prove Cold to be but a negative thing,
B 3 Where^

6 OftbePofitive, or

Whereas, if he content himfelf to play a doubting
parr, it may fuftice him, being in effect but a De-
fendant, to fhew that the proofs brought to con-
clude Cold to be a Pofitive Quality, are not Co*

gent.

Ctrniades. I acknowledge your Qjeftion, Eleu*
tberiHs, to be percinent,and not unfealonable. And
I prefume, you will not be furpnz'd, that a Perfon
accus'd of Scepticifm anfwers it by declaring, that
he undertakes not to demonftrate, that Cold muft be
a Privative or Negative Quality, and thinks it fuffi-
cient for his turn, to (hew that the Arguments
brought to evince it to be a Pofitive one, are not
concluding. And, fince you have already diverted
Themiflim from beginning (o foon as he intended,
'twill not be amifs, that I continue that fufpeafion
a little longer, to prevent, what I know we both
hate, Veibal Controversies ; which yet may very
cafily fpring from undetermin'd acceptions of
Words as ambiguous as I have obferv'd Heat
( of which I now make Cold but a Privation) to
be.

We may therefore confider, that the word Heat,
being made ufe of to fignifie, as well the operations
of tFa: quality upon other Bodies (as when the
Heat of the Fire makes Water boyl, or that of the
Sin rmltsWax, and hardens Clay ) as its opera-
tions upon the Senfeof man, ( as when a moderate
degree of Heat is faid to caufe pleafare, and an
excefiive one to produce pain ; ) this Term, I fay,
as Mr. B-jy/e alfo has fomewhere noted, may be em-
ploy'd fomecimes in a more abfolute and irdefinite
fenfe, and fometimes in a more confin'd and re-
fpective fenfe i In the latter of which, 'tis ed' ma-
ted

Privative Nature of Cold. 7

ted by its Relation to the Organs of Feeling of
thofe men that judge of it. Upon which account,
men are wont to eiteem no body Hot, but fuch an
one, the agitation of whofe fmall parts is brisk e-
nough to increafe orfurpafsthatofthe particles of
the Organ that touches it: For if that motion be
more Languid in the Object than in the Sentient,
the Body is .reputed Cold j as may appear i>y this,
that if the fame Perfon put one of his hands when
'cis hot,and the other when 5tiscold,into luke-warm
Water, that Liquor will feel cold'tothe warrtt hand,
and warm to the cold.

- Eleutherius. So that according to- this Doctrine,
methinks, one may, for brevities fake, convenient-
ly enough apply to your two-fold Notion of Hear,
thofe exprelfions which fome School-men employ
about certain Qualities, of any of which they-fay,
that it may be either materially or formally conii-
der'd. And by Analogy to their Do&rine, fince
Heat is a Tactile Qjality, and as fuch, imports
primarily a relation to the Organ oi: Touching that
relation, with what depends upon it, may pals for
that which is the Formate in the Qjality called
Heat ; and its ErYefts and Operations upon other
Bodies may fupply us with a Notion of- Heat, ma-
terially taken.

Carneades. I do not alwayes quarrel, Ehutfo-
rius, with Terms borrow'd from' the Schools, if they
be as much more fiiort and exprefftve than others,
as they are more unufual, or even barbarous. But
there is another D>ftin£tion of He.it, partly ground-
ed upon that already propos'd, which, becaufe it
may be of ufe in our'future Difcourfe, will not be
unfit to be here intimated. For we may confider,

B 4 that

8 Of the Pcfitive, or

that though, for the moft part, a hot Body is taken
in.the vulgar fenfe for that wherein the degree of
Heat is fenfible to our Organs of Feeling ; yet in
a loofer fenfe, and which, for Diftin&ions fake,
we may call Philofophical , becaufe concluded by
Reafon, though not perceiv'd by fenfe, a Body may
be conceiv'd not to be deftimte of Heat, even
when the degree of that Quality is not great enough
to be felt by the Touch > provided it can produce
in fome degree thofe other Operations, which,
when more intenfe, are acknowledged to proceed
from manifeft Heat. For elucidation of which, we
rnay alledge, That in very frofty9and yet clear,Wea-
ther, the Sun may be judgd to warm the Air, when
it melts Snow, and thaws Ice; though, perhaps,
many men, efpecially of tender Conftitutions, feel
in their Fingers and Toes much ftiffhefs and more
pain, upon the account of Cold. To this I may
add the common Qbfervation* if you grant the truth
of it, that Snow melts much fooner upon Land
newly turn'd up by the Plow, than, ceteris fArihus*
in the neighbouring ground ; which argues a
wairrith in that newly expos'd earth : though ac-
cording to the Touch it would queftionlefs appear
Cold. But we may be fmniuVd with a clearer and
more pregnant Inftance, by but recalling to mind
what, was juft now mention'd of the warmth of te-
pid water , which was not to be felt by a hot
hand, but producd there a contrary fenfation of
Cold. Which Inftance I therefore fcruple not to
repeat , becaufe it affords an Experiment in fa-
vour of that prermYd Diltin&ion, which, I think,
may alfo have this grpjnd in Reafon, that a confi-
derable Heat is often requifite to be fenfible to our

hands,

Privative Nature of Cold. 9

hands, &€. which are continually irrigated with
the Circulating Blood that comes very warm out
of the Heart, and enlivened by Ammal Spirits,
plentifully fupply'd from the Brain.

ItEletuheritis think fit to accommodate this Di-
ftinftion in the Vulgar and in the Philofophical
fenfe to his Heat, formally and materially taken,
I leave him to his liberty* And I fhall alfo leave
it to you both, Gentlemen , to accommodate to
Cold, mutatis mutandis, as they fpeak , what has
been faid about the diftindtions of Heat; becaufe,
I fear, TbemijliHs thinks himfelf to have been too
long detailed already from propofing his Arguments,
whtfh he may now begin to do afToon as he pleafes.

SECT. II.

Them.T Will then,with your permiflion^begin with
JL that Argument of Gaftndus, which I am
able to give you in his own wards ^becaufe upon
theoccafion of Mr. Boyle s book, I made a Tran-
fcript of what he fayes to evince the Pofuivs Na-
ture of Cold ; and having theTranfcript yet about
me, 'tis eafie for me to tell you, . , 'Jij V **
that tis this : h funt frtgoru ef- fICMtnJen.i.d.
fc&HS qnalei habere frivatio, qn& 6. Cap. 6,
attionis efi incatax, non pnteft*

This Argument, though he begins not with k^
I choofe to mike the firft, becaufe I think it of fuch
weight, that, though it were the only one he could
alledge, it would ferve his turn and mine, lince 'tis
drawn from the ErYeas of Cold, which, though he

men-

io . Of thePofitive^ or

mentions them but in few and general words, ex-
perience (hews to be boch io manifold and fo
considerable, "that if Cameades imploy an hundred
times as much time ro anfwer the Argument they
.afford, as I have done to recite it, he will, I think,
do no more than would be neceflary, and perhaps
not enough to 6e fufficient. For, Cold affects the
Organs of Feeling, and fometimes caufes great
pain in them, condenfes Air and Water, and breaks
Bottles that are too. well ftopt, congregates both
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous things, increafes
Hunger, checks fermentation in Liquors, produ-
ces Heat by Antipsriftafis, in deep Cellars, Mines,
&c* and yet freezes Men. and Beafts to Death,
difmantles whole Woods and Forrefts of their
Leaves, and does ( I know not how many ) other
Feats ; among which, it is not the leaft admirable,
though one of the moft common, that it turns the
fluid and yielding Waters of Rivers and Lakes, and
fometimes of part of the Sea it felf, not too far
from the fhoar, into firm and folid Ice, which is
often in Northern Climates llrong enough, not
only to be travell'd upon by Merchants with their
Carriages, but to be fought upon by whole Armies
with their trains of Artillery, From which, and
other Inftances, it is manifeft, that Effects fo nu-
merous and great , cannot proceed from a meer
privation, or any negative thing, but require a
con(iderable,-and therefore furea Poiitive, Qjality
to produce them.

' Carrieades. This Ob je& ion , Themiftius , is, I
confefs, a considerable one, and of more weight
than any of the reft, if nor than all of them put to-
gether : But, as I think it very worthy to be an-

fvyer'd,

Privative Nature of Gold. 1 1

fwer'd, fo I think it very poflible to be well an-
fwer'd ; and to give you my reafons for my 10 think-
ing, I fhall d,ttin£tly confider in the Atgument
the two particulars which it feems to confitt of.

And firft we are. told, that if Cold be but a Pri-
vation, it cannot be the object of fenfe. To clear
this difficulty, which, I know,you wilhhink it very
frard, if at all poffibleto do, I muft beg your leave
to obferve fomething about Senfation in general ;
not as defigning an entire and fokmn Difcourfe of
that Subject, but becaufe the particular remark I
am about to make, is neceflary to the Solution of
our prefent Difficulty. I obferve then, that That,
which, at leaft in fuch cafes as we are fpeaking of,
produces in the mind thofe perceptions, which we
call Senfations of outward Objects, is the Local
Motion, caus'd by means of their Action upon the
Outward Organs in fome internal part of the Brain,
to which the Nerves belonging to thofe Organs cor-
refpond ; and the diverfity of Senfations may be re-
ferr'd to the differing modifications of thofe inter-
nal motions of the Brain, either according to their
greater or lefler Celerity, or other Circum(hnces,as
out Friend Mr* Boyle has fomewhere exemplify 'd in
the variety of Sounds; whereof fome are grave,
fome ("harp, fome harmonious and pleafant , fome
jarring and offenfive *, and yet all this ftrange varie-
ty proceeds from the variations of thofe ftrokes or
impulfes, which the Air, put into motion by fono-
rous Bodies, gives to the ear.

To this it will be confonant, that as the Air, or

rather the mind by the intervention of the Air, is

d'rTeringly affected by a very gravfc'found, and a very

; acute one 5 though the formed -'proceed from the

want

1 2 Of the Pofitive^ or

want of that Celerity of motion in the undulating
Air, which is to be found in the latter ; which flovv-
nefs or immmution of motion, does, as fucb, parti-
cipate of, or approach to, the nature of Reft : fo
in the fenfory of Feeling, there may, upon the
Contact of a Cold Body , be produc'd a very dif-
fering perception from that which is caus'd by the
contact of a Hot Body ; and this, though the thing
perceiv'd, and by us call'd Coldnefs, confifts but
in a Idler agitation of the parts of the cold Body,
than of ihofe of the hot Body, in refpe£t of our hands
or other Organs of Feeling.

And this leads me, for. the farther clearing of
this matter, to reprefent to you, that fince 'tis
manifeft, that Bodies in motion are wont to com-
municate of their motion to thofe more flow Bo-
dies they happen to act upon, and to lofe of their
own motion by this communicating of it : Since
this, I fay, is fo, if, for Inftance, a man take a piece
of Ice in his hand , the agitation of the particles
oftheSenfory will, in good part, be communicated
to the Corpufclesofthelce, which, upon thatacr
count, will quickly begin to thaw > and the contU
guous parts of the Hand lofing of the motion they
thus part with to the Ice, there neeas nothing elfe
to leffen thz agitation they had before. And there
needs no more than this flackning or Decrement of
Agitation, tooccafion in the mind fuch a new and
differing perception, as men have tacitly agreed to
refer to Coldnefs.

• Eleutherim. It feems by this Difcourfe, Carne-
ades, that you think, that Senfation is properly and
ultimately madeira or by, the Mind, ordifcerning
Faculty j wbichufrqqa the differing motions of the

inter-

Privative Nature of Cold. 1 3

internal parts of the Brain is excited and deter-
mine to differing perceptions^ "to fome of which
Men have given the names of Hear, Cold, or other
Qualities. So that, according to you, if a confi-
derable Change of Variation be made in the mod
ordinary, or in the former motion or modification
of motion of the parts of aSenfory, and confequent-
ly of the parts that anfwer them in the Brain, new
Ssnfations will be produced, whatever the caufer
of this Alteration be, whether Privative or Pofi-
tive.

CarneAdes* You do not mif-apprehend my
thoughts, Elemherius) and what you fay gives me
a rife to illuftrate this matter yet a little farther
by obferving, that the Senfories may be fo accu-
ftom'd to be affeded after a certain manner by
thofe external Objects, whofe Operation on them
is very familiar, or perhaps almoft conftant, that
the Privation, or the bare Imminution of the wont-
ed operation leaves the parts of the Senfory , for
wane of it, in a different difpofition from what
they formerly were in > which change in the fenfo-
ry, if itbenottoofmall, will be attended by a per-
ception of it in the mind. To declare and confirm
this by an example, we may confider, that though
I Darknefs be confefledly a Privation of Light, and
the Degrees of it, gradual Imminution s of Light;
yet the Eye, that is, the Perceptive Faculty by
the Intervention of the Eye may well enough be
faid to perceive both Light and Darknefs, that is,
both a Pofitive thing, and the Prjvation of it. And
I 'tis obvious, that the motion of a fhadow, which is
J a gradual Privation ot Light, is plainly, and witfr-
. out difficulty, difcoYerable by the Eye s of which

the

i4 Of the Pofitivc, or

the reafon may be eafily deduc'd from what I have
been lately fayiog.; And to (hew you that there
is on thefe occafiotis fuch a change . made in the
Organs of Seeing, as is vifible even to By-ftanders,
I (hall need but to appeal to the Experiment of
making in the day time a Boy or Girl look towards
an enhghten'd Window, and then towards an ob-
fcure part of the Room \ for when the latter comes
to be done, you will plainly perceive, that for want
ef fuch a degree of Light as was wont to come in at
thePupill, and ftraiten a little that perforation of
the Uvea ; that round Circular Hole, or, as you
know they call it, Apple of the Eye, will grow very
manifeftly larger than it was before and than it will
appear again, if the Eye be expos 'd to a lefs (haded
Light.

This obfervation may be feconded, by what hap-
pens to a man, when coming out of the Sun-fhine,
where the Sun-beams much contract his Pupill to
ihut out an excetfive Light that would be ofVenfive
to the Organ, he comes prefently into a dark room,
where he mutt continue fome time before he can
fee others as well as he is feen by them, whofe Pu-
pills have had time to be fo inlarged, as in that
darker place to let in light enough to make Objects
vifible to their Eyes, which are not fo to his, vvhofe
Pupills are yet contracted by the Light they were
but juft before expofed to. To this I might add
divers other Phanomenst, explicable upon the fame
grounds, but I (hall rather' chufe to relate to you
an uncommon Accident, which happening to eyes
fomewhat unufually difpofed, do's more remarka-
bly difcover, what alteration Darknefs, or a priva-
tion of Light, may have upon thofe Organs. I know

a

Privative Nature of 'Cold. 15

a very Learned man, who is no lefs ftudious of Ma-
themiticks, and other real parts of Knowledge,
than skill'd in thofe which are taught of the Schools :
This VirtHofa who feem'd to me to have fomething
peculiar in his eyes, confefs'd and complain'd to
me> that if he come, though but out of a moderate
light of the open air, into a room that is any thing
dark, he does not only feel fuch an alteration as
other, men are wont to do on the like occafion $ buc
is fo powerfully affected by it, that be thinks, he
feesflafhes of fire before his Eyes, and feels atrou-
blefome difcompofurein thofe parts, that fometimes
lafts an hour or two together, if he fo long continue
there.

Eletitherius* I know not, Carneadcs, whether
after this, you will think it any great confirmati-
tion of your Opinion, that Ariftotle has fomevvhere
this faying, that, OchIus cognofcit Lucent &Tene-
bras.

C amende s. I thank you, Eieutberius, for fo perti-
nent an Allegation , though not for my own fake,
yer for theirs that will more eafily receive a Truth
upon the Teftimony oiAriftotle> than that of Na-
ture. And now, I hope, that Thtmifiius will con-
fent, that difmitfing the Argument hitherto examin'd,
we proceed to the next.

SECT. III.

..
!TA«».QInce you will have it fo , I (hall com-
O ply at prefent, and the rather, becaufc
not only I forefee there will be occafion to fpeak

of

1 6 Of the Pofitive, or

of it again, but becaufe you Experimental Philofo-
phers, that are wont To much to cry up the Infor-
mations you think you receive from Senfe, fome-
timesin fpite of contrary dictates of Reafon, will,
I hope, be prevailed with by the Argument I am
about to propofe, which is fo manifeftly grounded
upon Senfe, that without denying that we do feel
what we feel, we cannot deny Cold to be a Pofi-
tive Quality. For thus Gajjendus moft convin-
cingly argues > Chm per hyemem immittimtts manum
in /abends fluminis aquam^ quod frigus in ea ftnti*
ttir non foteft dici mera privatlo, aliitdque prorfu$
e[fe applet fentiri aquam frigidam, & fentiri non
calidam* Et fac eandem aqnam gelari , fentietwr
hand dabie frigidior, an dices hoc ejfe nihil ' a/iud
qnam minus calidam fentiri? Atqm calida jam
antea non erat> qaomodo ergo potmt minks salida ef~
fici ?

Carneai. I will not fay, Tkemiflius> his Argu-

' ment is not fpecious, but you, perhaps, or at leaft

Elemheriusi will not affirm it to be more than fpe*

cious, if you pleafe to confider with me two or

three things that I have to fuggeft about it.

And firft, to fhew, Themiflius, that , whatever
he was juft now intimating, Experimental Philo-
fophers do not prefer the immediate Impreflions
made on the Senfes to the dictates of Reafon,
though they think the Teftimony of the Senfes ,
however fometimes fallacious, much more inform-
ing than the Dictates of Ariftotle, which are often-
times ( and that groundlefly) repugnant to 'hem \
I will reprefert to you, that the Organs of Senfe,
confider'd precifely as fuch, do onely receive Im-
j>relTions from outward Gbjecls, but not perceive

what

Privative Nature of Cold. 1 7

what is tbe caufe and manner of thefe ImprcflBoriS,
the Perception properly fo called of Caufes be-
longing to a fupenor Faculty, who e property it is
to judge whence the alterations made in the Sen-
fones do proceed, as may eafily be proved, if I
had time and need to do fo, by many Inftances,
wherein the Senfes do, to fpeak in the ufual phrafe,
mif-inform, and, as far as in them lies, delude us,
and therefore muft be rectified by Reafon. As
when the Eye reprefents a ftraight Stick, that has
part of it under water,asif it were crookedjand two
Fingers laid crofs over one another, reprefent us
a (ingle Bullet or a Button vol I'd between them, as
if there were a couple : So that 'tis very poffible
( for I forbear faying 'tis true, having not yet pro-
ved it, ) that though the Senfory be very manifeftly
and vehemently affect: ed upon the contact of cold
Water, or other cold Bodies, yet the caufe of that
impreifion or affection is, and may be judged and
determin'd by Reafon to be, other, than that which
the Senfe may to an inconsiderate perfon fuggeft.
As when a Child, or one that never heard of the
thing before, firft fees a Stick, whereof one part is
in the Air, and the other under Water , he will
prefently, but erroneoufly, conclude that Thar
komenon to be caufed by the Stick's being crooked
or broken.

Next we may confider, that Senfations may in
divers cafes be made, as well from alterations that
may happen in the internal parts of the Body, as
from thofe that are manifeftly produced in the ex-
ternal Organ, by external Objects and Agents j
as may appear by Hunger, Thirft, the Titillatioa
of fome parts of the Body, barely upon Venereal
C thoughts,

x8 OfthePofitive, or

thoughts, and ( which belongs dii e£tly to our pre-
fent Argument ) the great Coldnefs that we have
known Hyfterical Women complain of in their
Heads and Backs, and the great and troublefome
degree of Cold, which we every day obfevve upon
the firft invafion of the Fits of Agues, efpecially
Quartans ; which troublefome (ymptomes, that
fometimes laft for feveral hours, are therefore com-
monly called the Cold Fits.

And now it would be feafonable for me to call
upon you to remember ( and add to what 1 have
now faid) that which at the beginning of our con-
ference I took notice to you of about Senfation in
general > if I did not prefume that thofe things are
yet frefh enough in your memory, to allow me to
proceed diredtly to anfwer the Objection, which
I llialldo, though not like a School-man, yet like a
Natttra/ifi, by giving an account of the propofed
Ph&nomenon^ without having recourfe to that Hypo-
thefn which 'tis urged to evince.

I obferve then, that though in the refpe&ive
fence above-mention'd, Water, wherein the Ob-
jection fuppofes the hand to be plunged, be cold,
in regard its parts are lefs agitated, than the Spirits
and Bloud harbour'd in the Hand; yet in a Philo-
fophical fence, it is not quite deftitute of Heat,
fmca 'tis yet Water, not Ice, and would not be a
Liquor, but by reafon of that various agitation of
its minute parts, wherein fluidity, a Quality effen-
tial to Liquors, confifts. Upon the fcore of this
refpe&ive Coldnefs of the Water, the Hand is
refrigerated ', for the Spirits and Juyces of that
Organ meeting in the Water with Particles much
lefs agitated than they are, communicate to them

fomc

Privative Nature of Cold. 1 9

fome part of their own Agitation, and thereby Iofe
ic themfelvesL, upon which Decrement of wonted
Agitation, fuch a change is made in the Senfory,
and, (though not fo manifeftly ) in fome other
parts of the Body, as is perceived by the Animad-
verfive Faculty under the Notion of Coldnefs j
Senfation, ( whatever obfcure Definitions are won:
to be given of it J being indeed an Internal Per-
ception of the changes that happen in the Senfo-
ries*

And if now, as the Objection fuppofes, the

Water wherein the hand is plunged comes to be

more refrigerated than before, the Spirits, Blood,

and other parts of the hand, finding the Aqueous

Corpufcles more (lowly moved than formerly,

mufr, according to the Laws of Motion, (according

to which a Body that meets another much more

(lowly moved than itfelf, communicates to it more

of its motion than if 'twere lefs flowly moved, )

transfer to them a greater meafure of their own

motion, and confequently themfelves come to be

deprived of it : And upon this increafe of the

flownefs of motion in the parts of the hand, there

follows a new and proportionable perception of the

Mind, andfo, a more vehement fenfationofCold.

But though it be not to be admired, that the bare

flownefs of motion in the Objed fhould be difcern-

ablebySenfe, albeit it feems to participate of Reft,

which with you paffes for a Privation, fince the

Ear perceives when a Voice grows faint, and when

a fharp Sound degenerates into a flat one ; and we

can perceive by the hand ( abftra&ing from Heat

and Cold ) the celerity or flownefs of Bodies that

in their paffage ftrike upon it , as for inftance, of

C 2 Winds,

so OfthePofitive^ or

Winds or ftreams } yet this is not the only thing I
think fit to be taken notice of on this Occafion.
For, 1 confide! farther, that befides the mod con-
fiftent and liable parts of the Hand , there are from
the H^art and the Brain irelli blood and fpints con-
tinually tranfmitted to the Hand } and the former
of thefe, the Blood, is, according to the Laws of
its Circulation, and after it has received a great
change in the much refrigerated Hand> carried
back through other parts to the Heart; whence it
is in the fame Circulation dittributed to the whole
Body. To which may be added, that when the
great refrigeration of the Hand happens, external
Agents may contribute to the Eflfcdte of it , as I
fhall by and by have occafion to fhew.

If chen you pleafe to remember, that upon the
turning ones eye to the dark part of a room lefs
inlighten'd than the Window, though Darknefs be
but a Privation, and though the Obicurity of that
part be notabfolute, but confift only in a lefs de-
gree of Light ; yet the action of the Spirits and
other parrs of the Body is fo changed upoa occafion
of the Light's acting more faintly than was ufual up-
on the Organ, that the Pupill is immediately and
manifeftly dilated, and in fome cafes, as in that
which I me^tion'd to y ju of a Learned Man, much
confiderabler Effects enfue ', you will not wonder,
that, where not only the Spirits , but the Blood,
( whence thofe Spirits are generated ) that circu-
lates through the whole Body, and upon whofe
Difpofition all the other parts fo much depend, is
very much difafte&ed, there ftiould be felt a great
alteration in the Hand , which is the moft immedi-
ately expos'd to the action of the cold Water.

And

Privative Nature of "Cold. 2 r

And for the Reafons newly given, it ought to be
as little ftrange, that in other parts of the Body,
the diforder'd and not circulacing Blood ftioulu
have its wonted a&ion on them confiderably al-
ter^; fince the more liable pans, and efpecially
thofe external ones that are moft expos'd to the
Cold, have their pores ftraiten'd, and confequent-
ly their Texture fomewhat alter'd j on the fame
occalion on which the wonted agitation ot the Spi-
rits with the Particles that compofe the Blood, is
notably leffen'd. And that fuch Caufes may pro-
duce great Effects in a Humane Body, you will be
more prone to admit, if you corifider the difor-
ders that happen in the cold fit of an Ague, and
oftentimes upon the .(hutting up of thofe excremen-
titious fteams that are wont to be discharged by in-
fenfible Tranfpiration * to whofe being ftop'd in
the Body by the conftri&ion of the Pores, which
chiefly happens through Cold, fome Learned Pby-
ficians, efpecially the famous Sennertm, impute
the cauie of moft Fea vers, as indeed Experience
it felfdoes but too frequently (hew it tobe'guilty
of many.

Philopontu* I confefs, Carneades9 you have faid
fome things that I thought not on before » but yet
Gatfendus's Argument feems to be fuch , that I fear
'twill bejhard to hinder many from faying, That if
Cold be but a Privation of Heat, 'tis a Privation of
a ftrange nature : For, it may be introduced into
Bodies that were not Hot before , nay, in fome ca-
fes, into fuch as are naturally Cold, and alfo by con-
fluence muft have been put into a preternatural
ftate to be at any time Hot.

Carneadss* This Objection, Fbilotonmy being in
C 3 cffeft

22 OfthePofetive^ or

effect fo mach the fame with that of Gatfendfts, that
ic differs from it but in the drefs you give it, 'twill
fcarce require a peculiar and diftinct anfweri and
therefore, as foon as I have reminded you of the
Diftir.ftior* that we have formerly made of the'
Vulgar and Philofophi:al fence of the word COLD,
I fhall'need to alter but a little what I (aid before,
by telling yon, that fince Fluidity confifts in the
various agitation of the infenfible Cofpufcles of a
Liquor, and that Heat confifts in a tumultuary, but
a more vehement agitation of the infenfible parts
of a Body, and fo, that Hot Water fcarce differs
oiherwife than gradually, from that which is cold to
Senfe; if Cold be taken in the larger andPhilofo-
phical fence, it may well be faid, ttat as long as
Water retains the form of Water, and fo continues
to be a fluid Body, though it tray be very cold to
the Touch , yet it is not absolutely or perfectly
cold, and therefore is capable of a farther degree
cfcoldnefs, which it receives when brought to Con-
gelation : for till then it was not deftitute of thofe
agile Corpufcles, that were requifite to keep it
fluid ', and till then, G^ffendm himfelf mud acknow-
ledge, trnt it vvas not absolutely or perfectly cold \
becaufe He, as you may remember, did in his for-
mer ( but lately mention'd) Argument afcnbe the
Glacation of Water to the mvafion ofthofe that he
calls Corpufcles of CAd.

E'iitheriw Give me leave to add, Cametdes^
that 'tis not every Glaciation it felt that brings Li-
quors to be perfectly Coid in thePhilofophical fence
of that expceffion , and quite expells or fubdues
all the agile Particles that were in the Water be-
fore 'twas mrn'd into Ice. For, I think, that to

effect

Privative Nature of Cold. 2 3

effect this change, Ms fufficient , that fo many of
thefe reftlefs Particles be deftroyed or difabled,
that there remains not enough of them to keep the
Water in a ftate of Fluidity, fothat the furplufage
may yet continue in the frozen Liquor, and whilft
they are there, perform feveral thugs, as the ma-
king it evaporable in the Air, and even odorous,
and by their recefs or destruction the Ice may grow
yet more cold. And as this Notion fuits very well
with the differing degrees of hardnefs , that we find
in differing portions of Ice , fometimes* upon the
account of the mi tter, (as frozen Water is harder
than frozen Oyl,) and fometimes upon that of the
different degrees of Cold in the fame Water or
other matter, (as our Friend fomewhere obferves;)
fo it maybe highly confirmed by an Experiment I
faw him make, but that is not yet publiflied.

The fummof the Experiment was this •, That he
firft put an Hermetically feal'd Thermofcope into a
Glafs broader at the top than at the bottom, and
greas'd the inlide with Tallow, that Ice might not
ftrongly ftick to it. In this Glafs was put Water,
more than enough to cover the ball of trns Inftru-
ment ^ and that Water being warily frozen, notice
was taken, whereabouts the tinfted Spirit of Wine
retted in the Stemm ; after which, the Inftrument
and the Ice being removed into the open Air, upon
an exceeding frofty morning, the Ice was taken off
from the ball, and prefently after, the tin&ed Li-
quor, as the maktt of the tryal expected, fubfided
a pretty way ( the length of the Inftrument consi-
dered ) below the former mark} which argued chat
he rightly guefs*d, that fuch a degree of Cold as is
fufficient to turn Water into Ice, may not produce
C \ a Bo-

24 Of the Pofitive0 ox

a Body perfectly Cold ; this Ice it felf keeping the
inclos'd ball, in a fence, warm, by fencing off the
Air, which, at that time, (even in our temperate
Clime ) by the Effect appeai'd to be colder than
t:ie very Ice. And, me thinks, it may ftrengthen
Carnwdes's Difcourfe, to reprefenr, that there is
ho. 'diffident caufe, why many things that are rec-
koned among Privations or Negations by the Peri-
pateticks themfelves, as well as Cold is by Came-
ideu may not admit of degrees? as may be exem-
plified by Deafnefs, Ignorance, and divers other
JEhingif And co bring a cafe, not very unlike that

.'ef confederation, we may take notice of a total
Eclipfe of the Moon, which you know alwayes hap-

is when (Tie is at the full. For Darknefs in the
Air being acknowledged to be a Privation or Nega-
tion of tighfj when the Earth interpofed between
the Moon and the Sun has Eclipfed her, for iii-
funce, nine digits, (as Aftronomersfpeak^) Men

lerally complain of darknefs in the air, though
there remain -a coniidcrable part of the Difcm or
the Hemifphere of the Moon obverted to us yet in-
Iig!ren:d by the Sun j . but when the interposed
Earth proceeds to cover the remaining three digits,
anJTo makes the Eclipfe total, the darknefs alfo is
fa id aiid efteem'd to be much increas'd : Nor would
men' oih-rwile'De perfwaded, though Themijilm
•ihuuld tell them, that the Air cannot have grown
darker, though it were dark before, and indeed
though the Air. was more arid more darkened in

portion to the increafe of the Eclipfe, yet it
was never compJeatly darken 'd 'till it became to-
tal. But I fear I dwell too long upon one Argu-
ment.

SECT.

Privative Nature of Cold. 25
SECT. IV.

EIch* T Et me therefore, Carneades, fumm up
J_> what I take to be your Do&rine , and
tell thuie Gentlemen , that I think you do not look
upon the Senlation of Cold asathhig effected by
an intire Privation properly fo called and confi-
"der'd as fuch, but that according to you that fl ;w-
nefs of motion in the Particles of cold Wrer,
Which the Hand finds when 'tis thruft into that Li-
quor, does occafion the Spirits and the Corpufcles
of the Blood to part with to thofe of the Water a
confiaerable (hare of their own furplufage of agita-
tion, whereby they lofe it themfelves, upon which
is confequent a Perception of this change made in
the Hand, which, if it be very great, is alfo fre-
quently accompanied with iome fenfibie change
in other parts of the Body, occafion'd chief-
ly by the frequent returns of the circulating and
highly refrigerated Blood to the Heart, whence 'tis
difperfed to the whole Body. According to which
Doctrine, the Senfation of Gold is but a perception
of the Ieflen'd Agitation of the parts of the Hand
either ftable or fluid, efpecially of the Blood,
which alterations are in great part produced, not
by the coldnefs of the Water, as Cold is a Privati-
on, but fiom the new modification of the action of
the Blood and Spirits upon the Nervous and Mem-
branous parts, the conftriction of whole Pores con-
currs to that Modification. And, if I do not mif-
underftaud your Opinion , CnrneAes, methinks it
may be confirmed by this which 1 have known ob-

ferved

26 OfthePofitive^ or

ferved by experienc'd Chirurgeons ? that by too
ftri£t Ligatures unskilfully made, an Arm, for in.
iiance, may be gangrenated ; in which cafe, all the
proper and immediate effect of the Ligature is but
theconftri&ion of the part, though that conftri&i-
on being unufual and excefllve, it proves thcocca-
fionof the mortifying of the Hand and Arm by hin-
dring the free and ufual accefs of the Blood and
Spirits to that Limb; upon which, by the depraved
adtion of the parts of the Body one upon another,
and the concurrence of external A gents, there en-
foes a Mortification or Gangrene of the part,
which, if due Remedies be not timely employ-
ed, is communicated to other parts and kills the
Man,

Carnetdes. Whatever become of your Inftarce,
EleHthenws, I thank you for your readinefs to pro-
pofe it in favour of my Hypothefis, which you will
eafily judge not to be much concern'd in the clofe
of the excellent Gaffendm his Arguments for the
Pofitive Nature of Cold. For though thefe words
cf his

Themfiiw. You may fave your feff the trouble
of naming them now, fmce, whatever they may
feem to you, I profefs I look upon them as con-
taining a diitinct- Argument, which I fhall there-
fore propofe in its due place hereafter*, but in the
mean time, and before we leave the Argument you
would have us difmifs , give me leave to remind
you, Cameades, of fome part of your former Dif-
courfe, and to take thence a rife to tell you, that
you, who told us that we ought not to confider the
Operations that Qualities have upon our own Sen-
fcries only, but alio what they do to other Bodies,

will,

Privative Nature of Cold, 27

will, I hope, allow me to demand, how a Privation,
or if you will, how an Imminution of Motion can
produce the hundredth part of thofe ErTe&s which
we daily fee produc'd by Cold in the Bodies that
are about us.

Garneadcs* I thought, Tbemiftins^ I had intima-
ted to you already, what might have prevented
yourQneftioni butfincel fee 'tis otherwife, you
fhall not find me backward to explain my felf a little
more fully. I do not pretend, that either an abso-
lute privation of motion in a Body, or a flownefs
of motion in the parts of it, is, as fuch, the proper
Efficient caufe of the ErTe&s, vulgarly but unduely
afcnb'd to Cold alone i1 for, in my opinion, Cold
is rather the Occafion, than the true Efficient Caufe
of fuch Efte&s, which, I think, are properly to be
afcribed to thofe Phyfical Agents, whofe actions or
operations happen to be otherwife modified than
elfe they would have been upon the occafion of that
imminution or flacknefs of Agitation which they
meet with in cold Bodies, by occafion of which
they are both deprived themfelves of the Agitation
they communicate to fuch flow Bodies, and there-
by acl: no longer as, were it not for that lofs, they
would, and by a natural confequence of this change,
which is made in themfelves, they do alfo, though
lefs notably, modifie the action of other Bodies up-
on them : From which unufual alterations happen-
ing in a World fo frarrTd as this of ours is, and go-
verned by fuch Laws refpetting Motion and Reft as
are obferved among Bodies, there muft in all pro-
bability refult many new, and fome of them consi-
derable, Phtnowna. For though Qaiefcent Bodies
feem not to have any action which among corporeal

fub-

2 8 • Of the Pofitive^ or

fubftances feems to be perform'd only by Lc
motion ; yet Bodies quiefcent themfelves may con-
curr to great Effects both by determining the mo*
tions of other Bodies this or that way, or by iecei-
ving their motion totally or in part , and fo depri-
ving the formerly moving Bodies of it : Thus the
Arches of a Bridge, though immoveable themfelves,
by guiding the water of the River that beats againifc
tlKm, may occafion a rapid and boifterous ftream,
capable to drive the greatefl Mills , and perform
;nore considerable c ttects , though the River, be-
fore it met with them, ran calmly enough, as is
evident at London Bridge, efpecially when the Wa-
ter is near a low Ebb. And now I have mention'd
Water, I will add, that though Water it felf be not
a quiefcent Body, but being a Liquor has its parts
in perpetual motion among themfelves ; yet fince
that agitation •acceding flow in comparifonof the
fwiftneis of .- Jannon-bullet, in refpeft whereof
the calmfurface of the Water participates of the
nature of a Quiefcent Body , Bullets tbemfelves
Aliot from out of Guns elevated but little above the
Level of the Water, ( upon which fcore they make
but a very fiiarp angle with it; )'thefe Ballet?, I
fay, do not unhequently rebound from the Surface
of the Water, and confequently, even thefe fo won-
derfully fwifc Bodies receive a new Determination
from it.

Eleutberitu* One may add, Camsad.es> to your
Inftances, that in a Tennis-Court the wall, againft
which Balls are ftrongly impelPd by a Racket, con-
tributes much to the mifchief that thofe Balls do
often to By-ftanders in the Gallery , as the Wall,
though it felf unmov'd, gives a new Determination

to

Privative Nature of Cold, 29

to the moving Ball, and by its remittance makes it
rebound or reflet at an Angle equal to that of the
Balls incidence. And this concurrence of the
Wall to fuch Effects is the more evident, becaufe
of this other circumftance ,( which aifo befriends
your Opinion J that, if the impell'd Ball, inttead of
hitting againft the Wall, hits againft the Net, this
by yielding deprives the Ball of its Impetus* and hin-
ders the reflection that would elfe enfue.

Carnead. You have, I confefs , fomewhat pre-
vented me, Eleutherim't but yet not altogether :
For though I was going to propoie the example of
a Ball, yet 'twas in fomewhat a differing way, for
I was about to propofe to Themlflim the example
of a Ball, which if it be forcibly and perpendicularly
thrown againft the hard Ground^ has its Determi-
nation fo altered, that whereas ' moved before
towards the Centre of the Eai\ ' -h imediately,
with almoft the like fwiftnefs of motion, tends di-
rectly upwards* And if on the other fide you
throw the Ball, not againft a hard , but againft a
muddy piece of ground, it will not rebound, lofe-
ing its tiwn motion, by communicating it to the
parts of the yielding Mudd $ as may be in fome mea-
sure illuftrated by the great commotion made in a
fmall Pond of Water, when a Ball ( or a round
ftone) being but gently let fall upon the furface of
it, has its motion thereby deaded , and transferr'd
to the parts of the Liquor , which perhaps will
be vifrbly agitated at the remoteft brink of the
Pond. <+

Eleiitheritu* Thefe Examples may conduce much
to explicate your Do&vine , Carneades, but fince
Themijim himfelf was fo equitable a while agoe, ajs

to

30 OftbePofitive, or

to allow you much time to defend fuch a Paradox
as yours againtt Gajfendws Argument, I fhall with
your leave ( of which I doubt not ) to the Exam-
ples already mention'd add this one more. Sup-
pofe upon a ftream that runs through fome Town
( which is not very rare ) there were built a num-
ber of differing Mills , fome for the grinding of
Corn, others for the Fulling of Cloth, others for
the moving of Bellows to melt Oars and Metals;
others for forging of Sword-blades ; others for ma-
king of Paper, and others for other ufes : And fup-
pofe that an Enemy coming to befiege this Town,
fhould fuccefsfully imitate Cyrus Straragem, when
by fuddenly diverting the courfe of Euphrates he
took Babylon ; would it not be confequent to this
derivation of the Water into fome lower place,
and this ceafing 01 the Stream to run in its former
Channel, that the action of all thefe Mills, by which
fo many differing operations were performed, muft
of neceility ceafe too? though theBefiegers do not
produce this change by any pofitive and direct vio-
lence that they offer to the Mills, but onely by
hindring them from receiving the wonted Impulfes
which wererequiiiteto keep them in motion.

Carncades. I difltke not your Inftance, Eleutbe-
rius, which yet will not altogether render ufelefs
what I was going to fay about a Wind-mill, which
will illuftrate one part of my Do&nne, for which
your Water-mill does not feem to have been in-
tended. And that this Example may the better do
fo, I will fuppofe a Wind-mill to be built in fome
low place near the bank of your ftream , which
ftream we will fuppofe to be lyable, as fome others
are, upon the falling of great and fudden rains up-
on

Privative Nature of Cold. 3 1

on the neighbouring hills, to overflow its 6anks, in
cafe the increafe of the Water be not then hindred
by the Wind-mills lifting up conftantly fome parts
of if, and conveying it away by Pipes or otherwife :
And then let us fuppofe, what really fometimes
happens, that the Wind fhould fo ceafe, that there
ftiould not blow any wind itrong enough to move
the fails for a great while together; will it not
hence manifeftly follow, that by reafon of this ab-
fence of the Wind, which abfence has the nature of
a Privation or Negation of a Stream-like motion in
the Air, not only there will be a ceafing of thofeT
Effects and Operations whatever they were, that
were wont to be perform'd within the Mill it felf,
but alfo there will be a durable intermiffion of that
main work of the Mill whereby it carried off fuch
a quantity of Watery which work ceafing with the
Wind, whilft the flowing in of the Water does not
ceafe too, but continues as formerly , the ftill-in-
creafing Water muft bear down or oveiflow its
wonted Banks or other Boundaries, and by its un-
ruly effufions drown the neighbouring parts, and
produce the Diforders,that is, the new ?h*nomena7
naturally confequent to an Inundation made by fuch
a quantity of Water* And if the Water conveyed
away by means of the Mill through Pipes or Chan-
nels were employed to water Grounds, or other
particular ufes, the growth or fertility at lead of
the Vegetables that Water was requisite to nou-
rifti, or the other ufes to which it was neceffary,
muft confequently be much, if not totally, hin-»
dred.

Pbilofonw. I know not whether we may not
tefer to the Subject of your Difcourfe, what may

be

32 Of the Tofitive, or

be obferv'd in Paralytic^ affections, where a little
Vifcous or Narcotick Humour obftructing or other-
wi(e diiaffecting one part of a Neive, "though its
proper ana immediate action be only to hinder or
weaken the Spirits, that were wont, in competent
plenty, to pais freely along the Nerve to the Mufcles
whereto it leads \ yet (he action of the other parts
of the Body and the Relaxation of the Fibres do
oftentimes produce a tremulous motion in the
Limb?, a ,d particularly rhe Hands ; and fome-
times alfo the Mouth, Neck and ether parts, are
drawn awry in an odd and frightful manner.

Carncadeu Though I approve of Pbilcpin^s
fancy, yet I think a more quick and notable In-
jftance to the fame purpofe may be taken, from what
happens to Birds, and Rats, and Cats, and fuch
kind of warm Animals , in Mr. Boyle's Engine*
For 06 the Air by the agitation of its parts, or that
of fome Ethereal (ubftance that pervades it, enter-
tains the fluidity of Water and other Aqueous Li-
quors; and when that agitation is hinder'd or too
much leffen^d, Water ceafes to be fluid, and upon
that divers Violent Effects enfue, wont to be a-
fcrib'd to Glaciation : fo the bodies of warmer
Animals, having been born in the Air , and per-
petually expos'd to the action of it , ( though that
be feldome heeded) when being plac'd in the Re-
ceiver of the Air-pump, and by the operation of
that Inftrument, which withdraws the former Air
and keeps out the new, the Air that was wont con-
tinually to act up n them, is kept from doing fo
any longer, though this ab fence, or nor touching
of the Air, be but a privative or negative thing, yet
by reaibn of the ftructure of the Animat \ his Spi-
rits

Privative Nature of Cold, 3 3

Tits and Humours, affifted by the concourfe of more
general Gaufes , are brought to act fo differingly
from what they were wont to do, that the Blood
and Juyces fwell, the Stomach vomits, the Animal.
grows faint and ftaggers, the Limbs, and at length
the whole fiody are convulfed, the Circulation is
ftopp'd, and at laft the whole Animal kill'd ; and
all this done in a very few minutes of an hour,
without the vifible intervention of any pofitive A-

gent,

BUuthsrw. What you fay, Carneddes, Concern-
ing the quick and violent Death of warm" Animals
in Mr. Boyle s Engine, puts me in mind of an Ex-
periment 1 faw made in that Inftruraent upon cold
Animals, which, methinks, may well illuftrate the
Comparifon we lately employed of a Wind-mill.
For as thofe great artificial Engines lofe their Mo-
tion, and the Operations depending on it, if that
Stream of Air, we call the Wind,J>e held from
keeping them going ; fo Infects and fome other
cold Animals have their differing motions fo de-
pendent upon the contact of the Air, that, as foon
as ever they are deprived of it (by the Engine we
are fpeaking of ) divers forts of them: will lye
movelefs as if they were dead; and I have known
feveral of therri that were put in together, continue
in that ftate for many hours, as long as it ple*s'd
our Friend to with-hold the Air ; but when once
He thought fit to kt a Scream of Air enter the
Receiver,thefe feemingly dead Animalvas Worm?,
Bees, Flyes, &c. like fo many little Wind-mills of
Nature's (or rather her great Authors ) making,
were fet a moving in various manners ( as creeping,
. flying, &c) fuitable to their differing Species*

D Carnt*

54 Of the Pofitive^ or

CametdesSo that to fumm up in a few words the
Refult of thefe Inftances, and the reft of the paft
Difcourfeon the fame Subject, it appears by what
has been faid, that the Effects undefervedly afcrib'd
to Cold, need not in our Hypothefis be referr'd to
a Privation, but to thofe pofitive Agents or active
Caufes, which by their own nature are determin'd
co a£fc otherwife on, or fuffer oiherwife from, one
another, in cafes, where there is a great hindrance
or ceafing of wonted agitation, than where there
is nor*

SECT. V.

Tbemifi ♦TT may perhaps now be time to put Car-
A neades in mind, that, in what he
has been difcourfing all this while , he has pro-
pos'd Anfwers but to a couple of Gajfendtus Ar-
guments, and left the reft untouch*d.

Carneades. I ftould readily grant , Themlftius,
that I have dwelt too long upon fo few Arguments,
if I did not hope, that by fully anfwering Them,
and giving the Company a particular account of
my Notions concerning Cold, I might very much
fhorten and facilitate the remaining part of my
Task, which engages me to return Anfwers to the
ether Arguments you ipeak of, the grounds of
fo!vingwhich,Ithink,I have already laid in the paft
Difcourfe. And therefore you may go on to propofe
the next Argument Q^C^jfendw^ foon as you pleafe.

Tbcz

Privative Nature o/CoId. 3 5

ThmifRns. And I (hull doit, Carneades, in that
Learned Man's own words, which I well remem-
ber to be thefe : Fac manum immitti _ _ . . „
/i r- j . Gaflcnd.Lfft

/» aquam nunc calidam, nunc frigidam > $t £^# ^

qnamobrem mams intra iflamy non in'
tra illa'm refrigeratnr .? an quia calor minus intra,
frigidam retrabitttr* manufque proinde relinquitttr
calida minus ? At^ quidnam calor refugit, quod
intrafrigidamreperiatnr? nonne frigns? Atfifri-
gus eft tantHmprivMQ) qnidnam calor ab ilia mttuit 2
Privatio fanh nihil eft, atqne adeb nihil agcrey unde
ej fis motus incntiatur^ pot eft*

Carnudes. This Objection, Themiftius] may
indeed puzzle many School-Pkilofophers, butwiH
eafily admit an anfwer in my Hypothefis. For that
does not oblige, or fo much as tempt, me to afcribe
( as a Peripatetic^ would do, ) to a meer Quality,
( for fuch is Heat, ) both a knowledge of its danger,
and a care and skill to prefer ve it fejf from its Ene-
my, the Cold, by a retreat inwards. For, agree-
ably to what I lately delivered, 'tis obvious for me
to explicate the Phenomenon thus : When a man
puts his Hand into warm Water, the agitation of
the Corpufcles of that Liquor furpaffing that of the
Spirits, Blood, and other parts of his Hand, cannot
but excite in him a fenfe of Heat *, but when he puts
the fame Hand into cold Water, the cafe ought to
be much altered, not by any imaginary retreat of
the Spirits, but the communication of motion by
other parts to the furrounding Water , by which
means there muftbe in the Hand a great leffening
ofthe former agitation of its parts, the perception or
fenfe of which decrement of motion is that which we
call the Feeling of Cold*

D 2 Eltw

3 6 OftfiePofitive, or

Eleuthcrius* I think indeed, Cameades > that
though this Argument may be confiderable againft
thofe that the Learned framer of it might have is
his Eye^ it is but invalid againft you. But can you
as well decline the force of that other Objefifon,
which Gajfendtts more infills on, andwhicHeems
as dire&ly to oppofe you as any other Adverfaries
of his Hypothecs ?

ThemijiiHs. I prefume, EUuthertHs, you mean
that cogent Argument, which Gaffendus propofes
and profecutes more fully than the reft, deducing
it from the way of artificially freezing Water by a
mixture of Snow and Salt, placed about the outfide
of theGIais that contains the Liquor. For from this
practice he rationally concludes , that fince this
frigorifick mixture is through the Glafs abletofreez
the Water into Ice, it may as juftly be affirm'd to
act by Corpufcles of Cold, as Fire can be to^d
by Calorifick Corpufcles, when kindled Coals, pla-
ced on the outfide of the Glafs , make the contain-
ed Water boyl. And this cogent Argument win,
I hope, prove the more fatisfa&ory to Carneadesi
fince 'tis not drawn from what he would call a di-
sputable Peripatetick Notion , but from the fame
Quiver, whence he affects to take bis Shafts, Ex-
perience it felf,

Cameades* I freely acknowledge, Gentlemen,
this Argument to be very plaufible ; but that it is
clear and cogent, I muft not grant, till I. be better
Satisfied that it is fo.

And, I fhall fcarce think it a? evident, that Ice
and Salt zGt by a Pofitive Quality, as that burning
Coals do fo, though Cold feems as well to be pro-
duced by the former, as Beat by "the latter. For

in-

Privative Nature of Cold. 3 7

innumerable Experiments {hew, that/to, in the'
Fire efpecially, is a Pofitive Qjality, confiflingin
a tumultuary and vehement agitation of the minute
parts of the Body that is (aid to be hot, and produ-
cing alfo in the Bodies that 'tis communicated to, a
local motion, which is manifeftly a pofitive thing.
This is fo evident, in the heating of Bodies by-
mere attrition, the fmoaking and melting of divers
Bodies in the Sjn-beams ( efpecially at fit times of
the day and year, ) the fudden boiling and diffipa-
tion of Water }OA>crc. dropt on a red-hot iron,and
many other obvious inftances, that 'twere a needlefs
work to go about to prove it, efpecially Cmcc both
Themiftifts's Peripateticks, and Gajfendtis himfelf,
who fo often difagree about other things, agree
in confefling that Heat is a Pofitive Quality.

Thmiftim. But remember, Carneades-, that the
grounds on which they do fo*, are the fame, on
which Gajfendus juftly builds the Proposition, that
Cold alfo is a Pofitive Quality*

Carneades. I did not forget that, Themiftius ; for
I was about tofubjoynto what I laft faid, that 'tis
evident not onely by the confeflion of my Adverfa-
ries, but by that ( which to me is much more con-
iiderable) of Nature her felf, proclaiming it in the
Inftances I juft now mentioned, that Heat is aP6-
fitive Quality j whereas thac Cold likewife is fo,
does, not appear to me by the Experiment of Arti-
ficial Congelations. For, in this all that is clear in
matter of fa 61 is, that Snow or beaten Ice and Salt
are put about a Veflel full of Water or other Aque-
ous Liquor, and that, within a while after > this
Water begins to be turn'd into Ice ^ but , that this
Chelation is perform'd bv fwarms of atoms of Cold,
D 3 that

3 8 OfthePofitive, or

■that permeating the Glafs, invade and harden the
Liquor, is not perceiv'd by Senfe, but concluded
by a Ratiocination, the cogency of which I am al-
lowed to examine without affronting the certainty
of Senfe ; that not being concerned in the cafe.
If then an intelligible way can be propofed of fair-
ly explicating the Phenomenon, befides that infifted
on by Gaffcnjtis, the objection drawn from this
Experiment againft my Hypothecs will be invalid.
And fuch an Explication Monfieur Des-Cartes iri-
., genioufly gives in bis Meteors : §hia

Cap™ Materia Subtil* ( feyes he ) f ambus

hnjas aqua, circumfufa crajjlor ant mi"
nus ffibtilisj & confequenter plus virium ha bens* qukm
ilia qu<z circa nivis partes harebat, iecam illius occh-
par9 dum partes nivit liqnefcendo partibus Salts cir-
camvQlvHntur. Facilim enim per fa if a aqua qnam
per dulcls poros movetur-) & perpetuo ex corporc mo in
altud tranfire nititur, ut ad ea loca perveniat in qui-
hts mot ui [no mintis refiftitur : qttj iyfa materia fub-
ti/Ur ex nive in aquaw penetrate ut egredienti fac
csdaty & qnum non fatis validafitj ad continuandam
agitationem h*)us aqud, illam c oner efc ere finit*

PbUovonus* I leave Themiflms to confider, whe-
ther this Explication be without Exception; but I
confefs it is not without Analogy, and that even
amongft the four firft Qualities themfelves. For
when we Chymifts have a mind to dry (for in-
ihnce ) the Calces or Precipitates or other Pow-
lers, from which we have filtrated the Liquors we
employ to wafh or dulcifie them, 'tis ufual either
to put the Filters, wherein thefe Powders remain
almoft in the form of Mudd , oy to fpread the fluff
it felf upon brown Paper or pieces of Brick or

Chalk,

Privative Nature of Cold. 39

Chalk, which much haften ~the exficcation of the
things laid upon them, not by any drying Particles
which they emitt into the foft fubftances, but by
imbibing the fuperfluons parts of the Liquor, and
thereby freeing from them the Subftances to be dry-
ed. And, I remember , I have feen our Friend
Mr. Boyle, by immerfing a piece of fofc crumb of
bread into an a&ually cold Liquor, that would ha-
ftily imbibe its Aqueous Corpufcles, and dry it in
a minute or two of an hour fo as to make it feel
hard.

ElcutbeniHs* Thete inftances bring into my mind
another Chymical Experiment, that I have feen
made by the fame Gentleman , which was ; That
by putting into weak Spirit of Wine a fufficient
quantity of Salt of Tartar, he quickly defleamed
the Spirit without Diftillation, or fo much as Heat.
And this will the better illuftrate the Cartefian. Ex-
plication, becaufe 'tis manifeft by the change that
will be made of the moft part of the Salt of Tartar
into a Liquor that will not mix with the now de-
fleamed Spirit of Wine, that the reafon of the
Operation is , that the Aqueous Particles of the
Phlegmatick Spirit, finding, it feems, more conve-
nience or facility to continue their motion among
the Fixt Corpufcles of the Salt, than the Vinous
ones of the Spirit, pafs into the Alkaly and diffolve
it i and thereby defert the Liquor through which
they were diffufed before. And I know another
Saline body, that fo unite? with Water, as not to be,
by the Eye, diftinguifha^; from it, and yet is o£
fuch a Texture, that Wa it is fo much lefs difpo-
fed to mingle with it tha* with Spirit of Wine it
felf, that it will forfake the Body it kept in agitation,
D 4 to

40 OfthePofithe^ or

to pa[s into this Spirit ; and fo leave that which it
kept in the form of a Liquor before, to appear in
the form of a confiftent Body j which inftance comes
fbmewhat nearer than the former to the Experiment
of Giaciation.

Carneades. Though what you have recited, Gen-
tlemen, be not unwelcome to me, yet, I think, I
can prdpofe you an Experiment fitter to dilucidate
the Cartefian Explication. For, I remember, that
our common Friend, having a mind to ftiew, that
a fmall proportion of agile matter, invifibly diffus'd
through a %ody that would be otherwife confiftenr,
may bring it to , and keep it in, the ftate of Flui-
dity ; devifed and fhewed me the following Expe-
riment. He took Camphire broken into fmall
bits, and calling a convenient quantity of it upon
Aquafortis* fuffa'd it to float there, rill without
Heat the Camphire -was diflplv'd into a Liquor,
and it look'd and felt like an Oyl, which, though
fhaken with the Aquafortis, would emerge to the
top again. If this Oyl were kept well itopt, that
the Spirits of the Menftruum might not evaporate,
it would ( as he affiimM tryal had taught him ) con-
tinue long fluid, he having fometimes kept it a year
or two or more. And that 'tis the agile Spirits of
the Aqua fort is tharfkeep the Camphire fluid, he
has made probable- by divers things that! muft not
now May to recire.And rhat the quantity of thefe agile
Particles is bur fmall, I am induc'd to think by this,
among other things, ; th1r,\vhen I have made a fmall
parcel of but moderate >\cAafortis turn a pretty pro-
portion of Camphire intiet)yl, & feparated that Oyl
from ir, I could, by casing frefh Camphire on the
fame Mcnftrmm* red'uce that alfo into the form of

Oyl.

Privative Nature of Cold, 41

Oyl. Now, that thefc Fluidifick Spirits ( if I may
focall themj arenotfenfibly warm (no more than
the Cdrtefian Materia Cceleftu) in Water, is mani-
feft.to the Touch : And whereas I at firft fufpe£t*
ed,that the reafon,why the pouring of this OjI into
Water doth prefently reduce it intoCamphire again,
might be the coldnefs of the Water ; I after thought,
upon a farther information, that the reafon rather
was, that the Nitrous Spirits being difpos'd topafs
out of the Oyl into the Water, this Liquor readily
imbib'd and diluted them, and consequently difabled
fo many of them, that thofe that remain'd could not
do their former work any longer : Cmct be had try-
ed purpofely, that the Reduction of the Oyl into
Camphire would prefently be made, though that
Liquor were not pour'd into Cold Water but Hot ;
fo that the agitation, that it received from the par-
ticles of the Menftrmni) though not to our Touch
fenfibly warm, wa§ much more efficacious, than that
which it received from the Heat of the Water.
1 EUntbmus. I know not, whether befides the
Inftances that have been now propofed , one may
not alledge fuch an Argument alfo in favour of the
Cdrtefian opinion about Cold, as would not be in-
fignificant , though it fhould be made appear, that
Cold may fometimes be produced by or upon the
EmiflTion of Corpufcles, that in fome fence may be
callM Frigorifick. For there may be Corpufcles
of fuch a Nature, as to fize, ftiape, and other ao
tributes, as to be fit to enter the Pores, and pierce
even into the inward parts of Water, and fome
other Bodies., fo as to expell the calonfick Cor-
pufcles they chance to meet with, or to clog or hin-
der their activity, or on fome other account confi-
de-

42 OfthePofitive^ or

derably to leflen that agitation of the minute parts,
by which the Fluidity of Liquors and the Warmth
of other Bodies ismaintainU But , even in fuch ca-
fes, though the Agent and the Actions that pro-
duce Coldnefs, be Pofitive things; yet the Nature of
Coldnefs itfelf may confift in a Privation. As when
a man is kill'd by a bullet, his Death is effected by
a Poiitive and even impetuous Action , and yet
Death it felf is but a Privation of Life. If alfo in
a dark Room a man caft cold Water upon a burning
Coal, though the Water ad by its Poiitive Quali-
ty of moifture, and, by virtue of that, extinguifh
the Fire, and by that means deftroy the Light, yet
the Darknefs that is confequent upon this action,
is not a Pofuive thing but a Privation.

SECT. VI.

PiWop.TpHe paufe you here made , Gentlemen,
A makes me think it feafonable to put
the Company in mind, that it begins to grow late,
and therefore to call upon Themiftius to produce
what he has yet to aliedge out of Gaffendtu.

ThemiftiH*. The Philofopher you have nam'd,
has indeed another Weapon to deftroy the Errour
about Cold, which he confutes. And this Argu-
ment like a two-edged Sword that cuts on both fides,
does not only confirm what he maintains, but de-
ftroy the chief objection that can be made by his
Adverfaries. The Argument I fpeak of he propo-
ses in theie terms : Tamttfi. vwlw vidcaMnr exfola

Privative Nature of Gold. 43

caloris abfentiafrigefcere, nihilominus nifi frigus ex-
trinfecm introducatHry non tarn frofetlb frige/cere
quam dec ah fc ere funt eenfenda. Efto enim lafisy
lignum, aut aliquid aliud, quod nee calidum nee fri-
gidttm fie, id nbi fuerh admotum igni eaiefiet fane 9
at chm deinceps calor excedet> neque frigidtim ullum
circumftabiu non erit cur dicas iff urn frigefieri potim
quam minks calidum fieri ^redirtve infuumfittum*

Carneades. Whether this contain not a difputc
de modo loqnend'h I fhall leave the Company to
judge by what I fhall return in anfwer to it. I fay
then, thatitfeemstome, that there is in the Dif-
courfe an Obfcurity, if not an Ambiguity, though
I am confident not arTe&ed by the Candid Gaffen-
dm. But to anfwer as diredly as I can ; If we fpeak
only of a Coldnefs as to Senfe, I fee not, why Wa-
ter or Wood or any fuch Body that is heated by the
Fire, may not upon its removal thence be faid to
grow Cold and not barely to decalefcere in ourPhi-
lofophers fence of that word. For the Heat and
Coldnefs of Water, in reference to Senfe, confirm-
ing, (asllatelyftiew'd) in this, that the Parti-
cles of it are more or lefs agitated than the Hand
that is immerfed in it, they need nothing elfe to
make the Liquor grow Cold, than fuch an imminu-
tion of the brisk motion of its Corpufcles, that
they ceafe to be as much agitated as thofe of our
Organs of Feeling : And if this already impair'd
agitation be ftill more or more leiTen'd, the Liquor
will ftill grow colder and colder without the help
of any Pofitive Caufe, 'till at length the agile parts,
that kept it fluid, being quite expell'd or difabled,
the form of the Liquoi comes to be exchanged fos
that of Ice,

Phi-

44 - Of the Pofitive^ or

Phikfowu. But what fay you to that part of G of-
fend tu's Argument, where he propofes an Adia-
phorous Body, which, when affected with an ad-
ventitious Heat, would not grow cold by the bare
removal or ceffation of that Heat, unlefsit were re-
frigerated by an Agent, that were pofitively and
actively Cold ?

Eletttherius. I fay , Pbilopontu, this Supposition
fhould not be made, and that I know of no fuch
Adiaphorous Body. For fince , as I have been
obh'g'd to inculcate, thofe Bodies muft be Cold as
to ienfe, whofe parts are lefs agitated than thofe of
our Hands, and confequently Metals, Stone, Wood,
and other Solid Bodies, and alfo Water, Wine,
and all other unmingled Liquors we know, being
heated by the Fire, will grow cold again of them-
felves, becaufe the adventitious motion ceafing by
degrees, either upon the recefs of the Igneous
Corpufcles, or the imparting of the extraneous
agitation to the Air or other contiguous Bodies, the
Stone or Water, &c. will again have fo much faint-
er an agitation, rhan that of a mans Senfory, as to
be by him judged Cold: And becaufe almoft all the
Speeies of permanent Bodies here below that are
known, have in what is call'd their Natural ftate
a lefs degree of Agitation of their Infenfible Pares,
than mens Organs of Feeling are wont to have,
thofe Bodies may be faid co be Naturally Cold, and
therefore ought not to be fuppos'd to be indifferent
to Cold or Heat.

VBhpwtes But whether or no Nature do really

a'fford us an Adiaphorous Body 5 yet furely the

flinid is able to conceive one, and therefore Gaf-

fendw may be allowed tofuppofefach Bodies, and

Can

Privative Nature of Cold. 45

Carnetdes may be obligd to anfwer what he argues
upon thatSuppofition.

Carneades. Tis one thing to propofe an Adia-
phorous Body, as barely an intelligible or a poflible
thing ; and another, to give Inftances of ir, as Gaf-
fendus has done in particular Bodies, in which that
indifference is not to be found. And 'tis this Jaft
kind of Suppofition that I difallowed in Gafcndns's
Argument.But if a Body Should be propofed as Adi-
aphorous in reference to Heat or Cold, I might fay
without prejudice to my Caufe, that if fuch a Body
fhould be carried into a hot place, it might there
grow warm *0 and if it fhould be removed back a-
gain, and kept till it loft that new adventitious
Heat, it might rather deca/efcere than grow cojd as*
to Senfe. But the reafon is, becaufe ns not every
degree of imminucion of Heat that is able to deno-
minate a body Cold, but fuch a degree as reduces
the parts of it to a fainter motion than is at that
time in thofe of our Organs of Feeling ; and till
this be done, or at leaft very near dorifc, the pro-
pofed Body is ftill ( if I may (o fpeak ) in the ftate
of Heat as to Senfe : Which laft words I add,- be-
caufe that in reference to other Bodies it may then
be notably refrigerated. As Lead that has but heat
enough to keep it in Fufion, may, by the pouring
on of fuch Water as to a mans hand would feel Hot,
be brought to grow hard, which lofs of Fluidity is
alfo the Natural Effect of Cold, though perhaps both
the Metal and the Liquor be yet as to Senfe conli-
derably Hot.

EleHtherius. So that, according to you, none of
the kinds of Bodies that are actually known in Na-
ture, are Adiaphorous as to Senfe. On which occa-

fiori

46 Of the Pofitive0 or

fion let me note by the by, that the frequent Va-
riations of Senfe muft render it but an uncertain
itandard of Heat and Cold : And upon fuppo-
fition, that there were an Adiaphorous Body in re-
ference to our fenfe * yet it would not be fo in re-
ference toall other Bodies, or, in the phrafe of our
Vertilam fpeaking of Heat, in or dine ad tlniver-
fnm* And for what remains, the controverfie
grounded on Gfiffendm's Argument feems to be rar
ther Verbal than Real, and may be determined or
compofed by fetling the diftind acceptions of tfee
words Cold and Heat.

SECT. VIL

Phi/op »\TC 7"Herefore I wifti , that we may not
VV wafte the little time that is left us
upon Niceties of no greater concernment ; and I
think this fliort time would be better imployed, if
Cameades would be pleafed to tell us a little toore
particularly, what be fuppofesto be'the thing that
with-beid Mr, Boyle from delivering an opinion
about the Nature of Cold.

Eleutherius. Yet' me thinks 'tis but fair, that
Carneades, who has all this while been confin'd to
the anfwering anothers Arguments, fhould now
take his turn to propofe his own.

' Carfieadss. I find in each of your motions, Gen-
tlemen, fomething fo equitable and fo expedient,
that I flhall in part comply with bo:ht And rhatl

may

Privative Nature of Cold. 47

may haften to do what 'Philoponns defires, I (hall do
no more than briefly point at two things that may
be alledged in favour of the Hypothecs I defend •
For if you reflect upon what we have already dif-
courfed , we may take notice of things there ,
that will fcarce be well accounted for by being
afcribed to Pofitive Cold, but may be far better
explained agreeably to our Hftotbefis. And I
muft add in the next place , that I , who fu-
ftained the perfon of a Refpondent, may pretend
to have fufficiently difcharged my Office , if I
have (hewn the invalidity of all the Opponents
Arguments y and 'tis his part who aflerts a pofi-
tive thing in Nature, to make it good, whereas he
that denies if, needs not alledge any other reafon
why he does fo, than the Authority of that juftly
received Axiom in Philofophizing, Entia nonfnnt
wtthipHcanda abfquc Necefjitate. And, I hope,
there will need no other Engine to demoliiTi an
ill-formed and prooflefs Opinion about Cold,
than an Axiom fo Solid and Efficacious* that
in the Opinion of almoft ail the Modern Natu-
ralifts it has been able to abolifli fuch potent
and immenfe Bodies as the Primam Mobile it felf,
and a fuperior Orb or two, the leaftof which con-
tained that Firmament, in comparifon whereof the
whole Earth is but a point. And not only fo, but
the fame Axiom has banifhed the Angels and
Intelligences from the Celeftial Orbs, that Ari-
ftotle and his followers had afllgned them to turn
about 7 or rather hath releafed thofe Noble and
Happy Spirits from the drudgery to which the
Philofophers of fo many ages had needlefly doom'd

them*

EltH*

48 Of the Pofitive^ or

Eleutherius. I the lefs diftruft the validity of
the Axiom you alledge , becaufe I obferve it to
be the ground , on which is built a great pare
of the Reformation of Philofophy, that is intro-
duced by the Moderns. For one of the main
things that firft moved confidering men to feek
for more fatisfa&ory Opinions than thofe of the
Peripatetick Schools, was, that thefe obtruded a
great many Tenents in Philofophy , that were not
only un-proved, but unneceflary to the Explica-
tion of the Phenomena of Nature j as 'twere not
difficult to (hew.

But I fee Philoponui preparing to renew the
motion he lately made , in which the fliortnefs
of time makes me now think it feafonable to
joyn with him , I being no lefs defirous than be
to know, what may be the motives of your Friend's
declining to declare himfelf fully about the Na-
ture and Caufe of Cold.

Cameades. I have already intimated to you at
the beginning of our Conference, that he is him-
felf the fitteft perfon to be addreft to for fatisfy*
ing this inquiry* But not to be altogether fi-
lentonthisoccafion, I fhall tell you, that, as far
as I can guefs, he waits till farther Tryals and
Speculations have refolved him in fome points,
wherein he is not yet fatisfied : For, being of a
temper backward enough to acquiefce without fuf-
ficient Evidence, when the inquiry is difficult
and the fubjeft important ; he feems to me to
be kept in fufpence , both by fome Speculative
doubts, and the Phenomena of divers Experi-
ments, fome of which are.not deliver'd in his
Book. It would be now improper to mention the

fcrupfes

Privative Nature of Cold. 49

fcruples and hefitancies they have occafioned in
him ; though of thofe, I have heard him fpeak of>
I (hall name fome Inftances that occurr the moft
readily. As I remember I heard him make inqui-
ry* as to thofe that would have Cold produced by
CorpufclesofCold; Whether, znd on what account,
thofe little fragments of Matter are cold ? Whe-
ther thofe frigorifick Particles, that muft in mul-
titudes crowd into Water to turn it into Ice,
have Gravity or Levity , or are indifferent to
both? And how any of the three Anfwers that
maybe made to this Inquiry, will agree to fome
Phenomena that may be produced ? What Stru-
cture the Cprpufcles of Cold can be of, that
fhould make them frigorifick to that innumerable
variety of Bodies they are faid to pervade? And
whether the frigorifick faculty of thefe Corpufcles
be loofableor not? As alfo whether or no they be
Primitive Bodies, #and if it be faid, they are not^
whether there was not Cold in the World be-
fore they were produced, and whence that Cold
could 1 proceed ? And if it were faid they are
Primitive Bodies, he demanded, how it came to
pafs, that, by putting a certain factitious Body
actually warm into Water that was alfo warm ,
( both which appeared by a good fealed Weatber-
ghfs, ) there fhould prefently be produced an
actual Coldnefs ( difcernable by the fame Ther-
mofcope?) Thefe, and I know not what other
Scruples and Difficulties, fuggefted to him by his
thoughts or his Experiments, were the things that
I fuppofe prevaifd with a man of his temper to
forbear for a while the declaring of his Sen-
timents about Cold , left the Event of fome

E farther;

50 Of the Pofitive, or

farther tryal fhould (hew him caufe to retract
them.

Philofontts* What you have frefhly intimated,
Carneades, of Mr. Boyle % having other hefitations
than thofe you have named and fuggefted by Experi-
ments not publifhed in his Hiftory, does, 1 con-
fefs, the more excite my Curiofity to have at leaft
a tafte of thofe perplexing Phenomena.

Carneades. You may eafily guefs , Pkiioponus,
by what I have told you already, that you are not
to expeft a full facisfa&ion from me on this occa-
sion. But yet , that your curiofity may not be
fruftrated , I (ball venture to acquaint you wit-h
two Phenomena, which were, I fuppofe, none of
the leaft motives of his backwardnefs to declare
fiimfelf. But though fome body perhaps thinks,
that the grounds of folving thefe Phammena and
moft of the newly recited Scruples, may be pickt
out of fome things that may already have pafs'd
among us in this Conference ; yet becaufe we have
not now time to enter upon a difcuflion of this mat-
ter, I am willing you fhould fufpend the debate,
till we have occafion to meet another time h and
therefore I (hall now only acquaint you with a cou-
ple of Experiments, that he fet down for a Virtufo,
who was to foive the two main Problems fuggefted
by them. The firfi whereof was, Whence Water
fhould upon Congelation acquire fo vaft a force as
he found it had to lift up great Weights and burft
containing Bodies; though it feem'd by feveral
Circumftances , that the motion of the Water is
very much diminished when 'tis changed into Ice»
And the fecond Problem is thus conceived ; If, as
a brisk agitation of a Bodies infetifible parts pro-
duces

Privative Nature of Cold. 5 1

duces Heat, fo the Privation of that Motion is, as
Cardan and the Cartefum would have it, the caufe
of Cold ; whence is it, that, if certain Bodies be
put together, there will be a manifeft and furious
agitation of the imall parts, and yet upon this con*
flift the mixture will not grow hot,but fenfibly and
even confiderably Cold ? The Narratives them-
felves of the Experiments are too long to be now
read over to you. And therefore I ftiall leave the
Paper,that contains them, among you, tobeperufed
at yourleifure, between this and our next meeting,
till when I muft bid you farewell : Only defiring
you in the mean while to remember, that, as I
have but acted a part impofed upon me in our paft
Conference, fo notwithstanding any thing that I
have faid in my affum'd Capacity, I referve to my
felf the right of appearing as little preingaged as
any of you at our next meeting*

f 1 n-i s.

2U0I :
fti

btt •

I n

9 V

TWO PROBLEMS

ABOUT

COLD,

Grounded on

NEW EXPERIMENTS^

And Propofed

In a LETTER to a FRIENP,

UC I*

By the Honourable ROBERT BQtLE.

•

: i

xiv

(so*

laor

CO

To my very Learned Friend
Mr. J. B.

IPrefume that you will not be furpriz'd to
be told,that I fend you the inclos'd Papers,
not only that I might gratifie your Cunofi-
ty, but that you may by them be inabled to
help me to fatisfie my own* and therefore
I fhall accompany the Hiftorical Tran-
fcripts I made of the following Experiments, as I
found them regiftred for my own Remembrance,
with fome of the doubts fuggefted to me by fome
of the Phenomena that occurred. But yet I ftiall
not trouble you with all the difficulties that at firft
troubled me, but reduce the Exercife, I delire to
give your fagacity,to the folution of two Problems-
And I will begin with. propounding that firft, whicji
is grounded upon the laft of the two following Pi-
pers , becaufe though the Hiftorical part of that
be much the longeft, yet the grounds of my Qu&re
concerning it, will be much more briefly propos'd,
the Experiment it felf naturally fuggefting this Pro-
blem > How upon the mixture of two or
three Bodies, fuch as thofe mentioned Problem, IT.
in the Paper, there [honld manife/H?

E 4 en-

a Two Problems about Cold.

enfue a great and tumultuary agitation of fmall jarts,
and yet even during this cunflitl^ not any fenfible
Meat , but a confederals degree of Cold be fro*
ducd, and that even in the internal parts of the
mixture ?

The Inducements to make this Problem need
not be far fetched, it being obvious enough, that,
according to the Corpufcularian Philofophy, which
you and I agree in, a brisk and various agitation of
the minute parts of a Body is that, which makes it
Hot both in reference to our Seniories, and to its
operations on other Bodies. But I doubt, the rife
of the Problem is much more eafle to be under-
stood, than the Caufe of the Phenomenon) about
which I will not ask you, Whether one may not af-
fert, that Local motion is in its own nature a Gene-
ncal thing, which may be fo diverfified by Cir-
cumftances, that one kind of Modification or it, as
kit maae in Corpufcles of feveral fizes and iliapes,
raay be the caufe of Heat , and another that of
Cold ? Or elfe, Whether we may fuppofe, that
Cold is a pofitive thing, and operates by real Cor-
pufcles of Cold, which happening to abound, and
yet to be lock'd up in the Bodies whofe mixture
I imploy'd, they are, by the great conflict that
ditfolves the Texture of the Gaining Salts, fepa-
rately put into motion and that in fuch numbers,
that though really there would be a Heat produc'd
by the brisk and confus'd agitation or fome of the
parts , yet that Heat is not only conceal'd and
check'd, but rmfter'd by the over- povenng opera-
tion of the Frigorifick Corpufcles. But to ask you
about this or any other particular way of folving our
Phenomenon , were to forget, that my aim is to

learn

Two Problems about Cold, 3

i learn not your opinion of this or that p?"ic.:!ar
Conjecture or fancy about our Problem, but in ge*
neral, how it maybe beft tcfofo'd, i?.i what yoa
think to be the true Cau^e of fo oad an Etfe :

Having thus difpatchd the little I had to fay
about the Paper that fuggefted the feconc Problem,
I will now uippofe that you have read the Phx/wmt-
nA that contain the rife of the firft, to which I QuU
proceed without farther Preamble> G cctbe CVe-
ition or Problem, that theie naturally call tc:9 »?,
H hence this vaft force of freezing W*- Pr^Um j.
ter proceeds *

For, the breaking of refiilirg Bodies being to be
made by a violent Local motion, and Cold, accor-
ding to the Judgment even of the Modems, either
conlifting in, or at leaft being accompanied with,
a Privation, or a great Immi. ucion of Motion, it
feems very difficult to conceive how Cold Lnoflkl
make Water toexerc fo wonderr'ul a force. I twnow
the Learned G^fftndtu and divers other Pfi loft*
phers teach us, chat Glaciation is pexformM by the
cntring of ivfarmsofCorpafcfa J,ia they call

them, mtotfu L-quo . Bat I m ..::. Whe'her

from this Hypothecs a gooclS.huc- uf cur Pc*n-;~
nenon will be denv'd, tir.ee th-.e Atoms ot Cold
feem not barely as fuch to make that Expantion of
the Water, which is requires in he Experiment by
me reciteo.For I fee that though Water will b more
and more refrigerated, accordn g as the At £r; \s
colder and colder, yet till t be brought to an
actual Glaciation, all the fwaUBSjof che Fngonficfc
Atoms in it, are fo far from expardirg k, that they
more and more c ait Apdevrr that degree

of Cold which dtftroys Fluiditv, tbopgii it expards

Water,

4 Two Problems about Cold.

Water, does not do it merely by the multitudes of
the Frigorifick Corpufcles that invade the Pores of
the lately fluid Body, fince pure Spirit of Wine and
almoft all Chymical Oyles, though expos'd to the
fame degree of Cold that turns Water into Ice, or as
I have ciyed, unto a far greater than is neceffary to
do fo, will be but the more condens'd by tbofe
fwarms of Particles. But, which is more considera-
ble, I have carefully obferv'd, that, beftdes common
or expreft Oyls, Chymical Oyl of Anifeeds it felf,
being frozen or concreted by an intenfe degree of
Cold, will not be expanded but notably condens'd,
and accordingly grow fpecifically heavier than be-
fore. And this was one thing that kept me from ex-
pe6ting the removal of our Difficulty from the Inge-
nious Explicaiion given of Freezing by the Cartefi-
<nns, when they teach, that the Eel-like particles
whereof they fuppofe Water to confift, are very re-
mifsly agitated, and their want of pliantnefs makes
their Contexture lefs clofe> which yet feems not to
agree with the lately mention'd Tryals. And though
thefe Eel-like particles fhould lofe all their flexible*
nefs, though in that cafe it may probably be faid,
that they would take up lefs room than before, if
nothing oppofe their Expanfion , yet it does not
thence appear, how they foould acquire fo vaft a
power to expand themfelves in fpite of Oppofition,
as we have {hewn Water by Freezing does ac-
quire.

I did not hope to refolve our Problem by the help
of a Vulgar Suppofition, that well-ftopp'd Veflels
are broken in rroity weather obfugam V'acniy fince
I round that Suppofition to be erroneous by divers
Experiments, fome of which are mention'd in the.
Hitter/ of Cold. It

Two Problems about Cold. 5

It feetnd lefs improbable, that fome afliftance
jto the folving of our difficulty might be given by
two other things. Whereof the firft is, That, for
ought I have yet obferv'd, no Liquor but Water, or
1 that which participates of Water by having Aqueous
Particles feparable from it, will be made to fwell by
Cold ; nor will Water it felf do fo upon every de-
gree of Cold,but only upon fo great an one as actu-
ally turns it into Ice. And the fecond is, That upon
the Glaciation of Water and Aqueous Liquors, we
may obferve in the Ice many bubbles greater or
fmaller intercepted between the Solid parts, and
fuppos'd to be full of Air, ( I fay fuppos'd , becaufe
upon tryal I found them to have yielded but a fmall
proportion of common Air, ) which fuppofition, if
true, would perhaps invite one to fufpeft, that the
Air contain'd in thefe bubbles might have an intereft
in our Phenomenon ; fince I have found by tryals
purpofely made, that Air congregated into Vifible
though not great portions, may exercife a confide-
rable Elafticity, which appear'd not whilft 'twas in-
viiibly difperfed through the Water.

And if I did not fuppofe, both that you had taken
notice, that there are wont to be numerous particles
of fpringy Air difpers'd through the Pores of Wa-
ter • and that you had confider'd, whether the want of
pliantnefs occalion'd by Cold in the Aqueous Cor-
pufcles, whilft they are yet agitated and brandifh'd
by fome permeating matter j and whether upon the
change of the Pores,that we may conceive to be made
in freezing Water, either by the recefsofone fort
of fubtil Corpufcles or the admitfion of another,
or the clofer conftipation of the groffer parts, there
may not be product in Corpufcles, that compofe

Wa-

6 Two Problems about Cold.

Water, (to fay nothing of the intermix'd Air, or the
Concretions or the Coalitions occafion'd by the
Cold,) a fpringinefs capable to make many little
Bodies, endowed with it, exert a great force againft
the fides of the Veffel, that oppofe their joynt en-
deavour to expand themfelves : If,I fay, I did not
believe, that thefe and the Hke fufpicions had oc-
curred to you as well as to me, together with the
difficulties wherewith each of them feems to be in-
cumber'd, I would acquaint you with what thoughts
and tryals occurr'd to me about thefe and the Tike
conceits. But I not daring to think this could
prove other than a needlefs work, [ muft remember,
that my bufinefs in this Paper is to propofe Diffi-
culties, not the wayes of folving them ; it being
from your Kindnefs and Sagacity, that tjiefe are as
well expected as defir'd by,

SIR,

Your, (yc.

AN ATTEMPT

To Manifeft and Meafure the

GREAT EXPANSIVE FORCE
O F

Freezing Water;

... — ■■am i ■■■ . ■■ ■ ■ if i i-< M mmtrnt

By the Honourable ROBERT BOYLE.

>

(O

AN ATTEMPT

To Manifeft and Mcafure the

Great Expansive Force
of

Freezing Water.

Onfidering when I writ the Hiilory of
Cold, that though divers Phenomena
might induce an attentive Obferver
to think, that Freezing Water had an
Expanfive Force, yet I had not met
with any that endeavoured, or even
propos'd, to meafure it, whether becaufe they re-
flected not on it at all, or judg'd not the Force
confiderable j I who Iook'd with other eyes upon
it, thought fit to repair that omiifion, but was then
fo ill furniftied with requifites for doing it fully,
that I remember I complain'd of it in my Hiffory of
CokL And though, even afterwards , when the
time of the year was favourable, I could not pro-
cure fuch Accommodations as my defign exacted;
yet thinking an imperfect way of Meafuring to be
better than none, I preferred to the making no at-
tempt

2 An Attempt to Manifefi and

tempt at all the endeavouring to do what the leaft
defective Inftruments, I could procure, would per-
mi me, towards the making an eftimate by known
Meamres, of the Expanfive Power of Freezing
Water. For though I did not expect, I ftould be
able accurately to define it ; yet I hop'd I ftiould
make fuch an eftimate as to know that Force not to
be, as one would think it, Faint and Contemptible,
but very Great and Confiderable.

I remember on this occafion, that to manifeft the
Force or Freezing Water, I caufed the Barrel of a
ftiort Gun 'o have a <krew fitted to the Nofe of it,
by which we might exactly flop it, as we did the
Touch-hole another way $ then filling the Barrel
with common Water, and doling it accurately by
the help of the skrew, we laid it in a conveniently
fhip d VeiTel, wherein we incompafs'd it with a
Frigonfick Mixture (of Snow or Ice and Silt, )
and in a fhort time we found, as we expected, the
Barrel to be buijft, part of the Ice appearing along
the gaping flit that had been made in the Body of the
Iron by the freezing Water, which by this Effect
feem'd to emulate the juftly admir'd force of kind-
led Gun- powder. But the Defign of this fhort Pa-
per tending not fo much to prove, as (in fome fort)
to meafure the Expanfive Force of Water 5 I fhall
fubjoyn the Tranfcripts of two or three Experi-
ments, made chiefly for that purpofe.

EXPERIMENT /.

[ There was taken a ftrong Cylinder of Brafs *
whoi> Cavity was two inches in Diameter , into
this was put a Bladder of a convenient fize, with a

quanti-

Meafure the Great Expanfive &c. 3

quantity of Water in if, that the neck of the Blad-
der (which I had taken care to have oyl'd ) being
ftronglytyed, the Water might not get out into the
cavity of the Cylinder, nor be capable of expanding
it felf fome other way than upwards. Then into this
Cylinder was fitted a Plugg of Wood, turn'd on
purpofe, which was fomewhat lefs in Diameter than
the Cylindrical cavity, that it might rife and fall ea-
fily in it. Upon the upper part of this Plugg was
laid a conveniently fhap'd flat Body, upon which
wjre plac'd divers weights to deprefs the Plugg,
and hinder its being lifted up by the Expanfion wont
to be made in Water that is made to freeze ; then a
Frigorifick Mixture being afterwards apply'd to the
Cylinder, it appeared within half an hour or fome-
what more, by a Circle that had been purpofely
trae'd on the fide of the Plugg, where 'twas almoft
contiguous to the Orifice of the Cylinder, that the
Water in the Bladder began to expand ic felf, and
about two hours after, having occafion to fhew the
Experiment to fome inqui fit ive per fons, the circle
appeared to have been heav'd up in my eftimate a-
bout I , if not half, of an inch, notwithstanding all
the weights that endeavour'd to hinder the afcenfi-
on, though thefe weights amounted to 115 pound,
which were all the determinate weights we could
then procure, befides a brick and fome other things
that were eftimated at five pound more ; nor did I
doubt that. a far greater Lgad would not have'hin-
dred its Expanfion. 3

EX-

4. An Attempt to Manifeji and

EXPERIMENT II.

[ We took a Braft Cylinder, whofe Dimenfions
were three inches yg in Diameter* and in depth
four inches. Into this we put 4 fine bladder of a
convenient fize, almoft filled with Water, and
ftrongly tyed about the neck $ upon this bladder
we put the wooden plugg to (lop up the Oiifice as
much as was convenient, and upon the plugg we
pat a piece of a flat boavd tor the weights tofhjad
upon. Thefe things being prepar'd , we con-
vey'd the Cylinder with all that belongM to ic,
fave. the board, into a. farge wooden Bowl, where
we applied to the Cylinder a good quantity of the
Frigonfick Mixture, made with beaten Ice and
Bay Salt; and having firft raark'd with a circular line
the Edge ov Contact, where the orifice or lip of the
Cylinder touch'd the Plugg, we iayed on the weights
upon the b ;ard, and when by their weight they had
deprefs'd the Plugg till the cover of it lean'd upon
the Cylinder, we difpos'd our felves to attend the
iiLe of ihe Tryal. The event whereof was this, that
when the action o!f theFrigorifick Mixture had pro-
clue'dfome Ice in the Water included in the Blad-
der, that Liquor appeav'd to hive' dilated it felf
ilrongly enough to begin to 1 aife che Plugg with the
fu per incumbent weights, and by degrees they were
fcy tbe growing. Ice rais'dtili the mark, diligently
made on the Plugg where the edge of the 'Cylinder
touci'd it, was about a tenth part of an inch a»
bove the ftation it had before the Plugg had been de-
prefsU Then we took out the Bladder, and found
tile Cylinder of Water- Within the Bladder not to

be

Meafure the Great Expanfive, &c. 5

be wholly turn'd into Ice, but to contain fome
quantuy of unfrozen Water in the parts about the
Centre , which Liquor, if we had not fo loon de-
fined from the Experiment ( as for certain Rea-
fons we did ) might probably have rais'd the weights
fomewhat higher. But as it wa?, the Ice in length
was but three inches and about £, and yet fo fmall a
quantity of Ice fuffic'd to raife, belides the board
they lean'd on, as many weights of Lead as amount*
ed to an hundred pound Avsrdupois* ~\

EXPERl MENT HU

[ The day after the above mentioned Experiment
was made, to try yet farther the Expanlive force of
Freezing Water, the fame was reiterated after the
manner. above delivered, but with this difference,
that, having procuiM more weight, when the Plugg
was lifted up £ or fomewhat better (which Plugg
began fenfibly to rife within half or three quarters
of an hour after the Frigorifick Mixture was apply-
ed, ) it was loaded with a weight of two hundred
pounds, and a fifteen pound piece of Lead, and
other Bodies, as Boards, &c. to lay the weights
upon, which being alfo weigh'd by themfelves came
to fifteen pound more, fo that the whole amounted
to 2^0 pound ; and if the hundred pounds were
60th of them, as their bulk and (hape invited us to
guefs, of that fort of weights which are call'd the
greater Hundred, contaiamg an hundred and twelve
pound a piece, twenty four pound muft be added
to the famm , which would thereby be made up
25 4 pound.]

A N £'*V

EXPERIMENT

ABOUT THE

Production of Cold

BY THE
CONFLICT of BODI ES?

Appearing to make an EBULLITION.

By the Honourable ROBERT SOTLE,

An Advertifeoient of the Publifher's,

*tmM Ms manifeft enough by the beginning of the following
P Taper, that 'twas not intended to come abroad alone,
P as indeed it was but a part of fome Writings about
-■-■ Cold, defignd to inlarge the Hiftory of that Quali-
ty. But yet the Author forbore, by altering it. to accommodate
it to the Papers wherewith it now comes forth', becaufe in this
very form it was by htm (^ k ing to ta\e a journey ") left feald up
with the Learned Secret* * o\ the Royal Society in Febr. in
the year 1 66\ • fmce when it didt till lately, continue in thofe
fafe hands -3 the author having no need to ma\e ufe of it. Which
fit cumflances are now mentioned to keepthe Reader /row won-
dring, that the Author fpea\s of the Production he made of
Cold by the Conflict of two Liquors, as a New Experiment and
Phenomenon ; though now two or three years ago,the learned
Sylvius, as he is inform d, tal^es notice in one of his Booty, of a
wa) *f producing Cold by a Mixture of Spirit of Vitriol, and
another Saline Spirit, But befides that the Author's way
is differing enough /row Sylvius his, 'tis apparent by the time
when his Experiment was left with Mr. Oldenburg, who is
ready to bear witnefs to what is here faid, that he had made
it at le aft fome years before the other, to which he was perfetlly
a ftr anger, nor hath yet ever tryed it, came abroad. Nor fiould
he eafily have tooled for the Produclion of Cold by the mixture
cf the Aad Spirit of Vitrhl with every Volatile Spirit ; be-
caufe he found that the Cy I of Vitriol (as that Acid Liquor is
commonly, but abufivel), called) would!) j its conflit} withVri-
now Spirits, produce not fold but Neat. Whether the Care
and Caution fiefs, with which he made the Experiment now
to be fubjoyned, may give the Diffident and Curious more fat is-
fallion than a bare Affirmation would do of his having produced
Cold upon a mixture of contrary Bodies, he leaves it to others
to judge. Andlfballnow only add, that he fome years fince
fl)ew*dfome Curious Perfons, that Cold may be made to refult
from the Conflill of Bodies, whereof none isaneceffary Ingre-
dient in the Experiment , from which, it may be, I have to&
long detained the Reader,

(O

ANEW
EXPERIMENT

ABOUT THE

Production of Cold

B Y T H E

Conflict of Bodies, appearing to make
aa Ebullition.

AND now that we arc fearching after
the Nature of Cold,I am put in mind
that I have fometimes vvondredat a
certain Experiment that is fo Ano-
malous, and feems fo little of kin to
the ufual phenomena of Cold, that
though I do not particularly teach the way of ma-
king it, becaufe I could not do it without difcover-
ing fomething in Chymiftry, that cogent confedera-
tions forbid me at prefent to publifh > yet I cannot
forbear to relate, on this occafion, the matter of
Fad, both becaufe it may afford confider able Hints
to fagacious Inquirers, and becaufe it feems fo lit-
tle congruous to moft Theories of the Caufes of
Cold, that it may make the Framers of Theories
F 4 more

2 A New Experiment about the

more wary, and help alfo to excufe my backward-
nefs to propofe Jiyfotbefes about Cold in a refolute
and confident way.

The Experiment is this : We took three Saline
Bodies, each of them purify 'd by the Fire ; and
whereas there are divers Bodies, that being mingled
together acquire a Heat, which neither of them had
spirt > and whereas it is faid by fome that there
are a few, which being blended together make a
mixture fome what colder than either of themfelves,
thefe Salts of ours being put together in due propor-
tion, do upon their mixture produce that, which the
Eye judges to be a great Effervescence *, but though
the hilling roife be loud, and though the numerous
Babbles fuddenly generated will make the matter
apt to overflow the Glafs, if the one be not capa-
cious, and the other be not put in by little and lit-
tle ; yet even whilft this feeming Ebullition lafts ,
the GhiZy which one would expect to find very
hot, ( as ufually happens upon the mixture of the
Silt of Tartar, and Spirit of Nitre, and upon the
contufion of the like Saline Bodies difpos'd to pro*
duce together fuch Erflorefcencies ) initead of
grow.ng hot, does, if it be held in ones hand , feel
much cooler than before, and that in a wonderful
degree*, infomuch that ev'n in Winter the outfide
of the Glafs would quickly be cover'd with great
drops of Dew, which after a while would unite, and
trickle down by their own weight. And this we
could make to laft for a great while, by cafting m by
degrees more and more of c ne of the Ingredients on
the other. And befides thar, this copious Dew on
the outfide of die Glafs, reach'd as high as the mix-
ture within, which argued whence it proceeded ;

be*

Production of ColdL> &c. 3

befides that, puipofely looking on the bottom of the
Glafs whofe outiide was concave, we found no fuch
drops of Dew there, becaufe the Vapours of the Ex-
ternal Air could not in any quantity have accefs to
it ; which (hew'd theDew,confpicuouselLewhere,
notto come from the tranfudation of the finer parts
of the Mixture through the pores of the Glafs : Be-
fides thefe things, I fay, I remember, that having
fometimes purpofely wip'd off the Dew here and
there with my Handkerchief, the dry parts of the
Glafs vvould in no long time regain treiri drops of
Dew. And this odd Experiment we did for the
main repeac not only in the prefence of an Indu-
bious Chymift, ( whofe Tryals unexpectedly gave
us the Rife of the Experiment, ) but alfo alone, and
at differing feafons of the year.

I (hall add, that having afterwards, about the
middle of November, thought fit to vary a little, and
repeat the Experiment, becaufe 1 could then make
ufe of a feal'd Weather-glafs, which I had not at
hand when I made the former Tryals ; I took two
deep Glaffes, into the one of which I put a good
quantity of fair Water , and in the other I made
fuch a MiXure as I was lately mentioning ; and
having by a firing, ( to prevent the altering of the
temper of the included Air by the warmth of my
fingers ) let down the Weather-glafs into the Wa-
ter, that the Liquor fhut up in the Inftrument
might be coofd by the ambient Water; after it had
ftay'd there a reaibnable time, I took it out by the
firing that was fattened to the upper part of ir, and
letting it down into the mixture that was then bif-
fing, and filling the Veffel that contain d it with
multitudes of fuccetfively emerging and haftily va-

nifhing

4 M New Experiment about the

nifhing bubbles ; I perceiv'd neverthelefs, that the
coldneisof the feemingiyeffervefcent mixture made
the imprifon'd tindled Liquor to fubfide fo low,
that from four inches and three quarters ( or there-
about) at which height it flood in the carefully di-
vided ftemm , when the Weather-glafs was taken
out of the Water, it fell in a fhort time lower than
to one inch and a half. And becaufe I forefaw
that this might feem fcarce credible, efpecially if I
(hould relate how fwiftly the imprifon'd Liquor
fubfided at the beginning ; I {hall annex, that, for
farther fatisfa&ion of others, I remov'd the Ther-
mometer out of the mixture into the common Wa-
ter again, where it foon reach'd to fomewhat above
four inches and a half*, and not content with that,
I put it a fecond time into fome of the frigefa&ive
mixture before it had done foming, in which it fell,
as before, fomewhat below an inch and a half, and,
prefcnciy after, almoit as low as to an inch. And
having once more put it back into the Glafs that
contam'd the Water, the included Liquor re-af-
cended to above four inches and a half, and this
in ao excellent feafd Weather-glafs, whofeftemme
was not in all above ten inches long, with a Ball
proportionably big. And for farther confirmation,
I took notice, that, whilft the mixture, by its hiding
noife, and its ftrangely numerous Bubbles, feem'd
to be in a ftate of Ebullition, the outfides of the
Glafs that contain'd it, were, as far as the mixture
reach'd, fo plentifully b^dew'd with the condens'd
Vapours of che ambient Air, that their weight
carried them down in little it reams which left
round about the bottom of the Veflel a pretty quan-
tity of Liquor, that appear d by its talk not to have

been

Production of Gold, &c. 5

been made by the tranfudation of any of the (harp
and Saline Liquors that were agitated within the
Glafs. There remain'd only one fcruple, which was
fuggefted to me by the remembring of a circum-
ftance, which however, at the. making of the for e-
mention'd Tryals, I had not minded , and which
poffibly moft Obfervers would have negle&ed 5
but calling to mind, that the Water, I had made ufc
of toimmerfe the Weather-glafs in , was brought
out of a room wherein a Fire was wont ( though
not conftantly ) to be kept, whereas the Ingredi-
ents of the mixture were kept, and put together in
a Chamber , which, though contiguous to the for-
mer, had no Chimney in it > I thought fo for great-
er circumfpeclion fake, to let the Water (land all
night in tnislaft-mention'd Chamber, that the Am-
bient Air might have the fame Operation upon it,
as upon thofe Bodies that were to be Ingredients of
the mixture : And then repeating the formerly re-
cited Experiment, though I thought it needlejs to
fpend time to watch, as before I had done , the
greateft difference in Cold betwixt the Water and
the bubbling Mixture ; yet by making removes of
the Weather-glafs to and fro , from one Liquor to
another, it fufEciently appear'd, that the greater
coldoefs, remarkable in the mixture, did not be-
fore proceed in any con(iderable degree (if in any
degree at all ) from the Water's not having been
kept in the fame Room with it.

So that by thefe different Tryals it feems mani-
feft, That the coldnefs of the mixture was not t
Deception of the Senfory, fince it would bedifco-
ver'd by the operation, it had, not only upon the
Vapours of the Air on the outfide of the Glafs, but

upon

6 A New Experiment about the

upoa the Thermometer it felf, plac'd in the midft
of the mixture, which this laft nam'd circumftance
argues to have been cold throughout, and ev n in its
innermost parts.

And to fhew, how much this flange coldnefs
depended upon the peculiar Texture of the mixture,
or the ftru dure of its component Corpufdes, and
the peculiar kind of motion that was excited in the
tamultuating Particles ; I (liall here fubjoyn a
Relation which probably will not appear defpicz-
bit $ namely , That in the firft place I took fome
of the acid Liquor, the reft of which I had madeufe
of to make the mixture, whereof I have been fpeak-
jng j and put a convenient quantity of fair Water,
which had been kept a night or two in the fame
room ( wherein was no Chimney ) with it, that
there rnighc be no caufe of fufpicion, that the one
\nd been expos'd to a more* or lefs cold Air than
the other; and yet thefe two Liquors did fcarce
feniibly differ in coldnefs ; though to difcover whe-
ther they did or no , 1 remov a from one to ano-
ther of them a good feal'd Weather-glafs with a
very (lender ftemm.

And in the next place, I took a convenient
quantity of the pure Salt, 1 had fo often employ 'd,
^id call it into a G'.afs full of Water, which 1 had
kept many hours in the fame room with it, and
wherein i had a little before plac'd a feaPd Wea-
ther-glafcjthatthe included Liquor might be brought
to the temper of the Ambient Liquor ; but upon
this Injection, the tincfed Liqucr of the Thermo-
fcope fubfided fo little, as not to make me look up-
on this Silt as being it felt extraordinarily Cold,
flnce o.her obvious Salts ( that I have at other rimes

c;£

' Production of Cold, &c. 7

caft into Water to cool it a little ) and ev'n Sea-
Salt Would (according to myEftimate) have re-
frigerated it as much, if not more. Nor did I ob-
ferve the Glafs, wherein I was wont to keep (tore
of our Salt, ( though I had often occasion to handJe
it ) difclofe to the touch any remarkable degree of
Coldnefs; fo that the coldnefs of our hilfing mix-
ture could not be attributed to that of either of the
Ingredients apart, but was a Quality emerging up-
on their being blended. Now when I thus made
thefe Preparatory Tryals, having afterwards plac'd
in the fame Window ( of the Chamber laft mentis
on'd ) a couple of GlaiTes, with common Water in
one, and in the other fome of that mixture , of
whofe fi igefac~uve power I had very recently made
Tryal ; I left them to ftand there together all night,
and left ajfo ftanding by them fuch afeal'dWea-
ther-glafs as I have been mentioning ; and thenexc
morning, when all the vifible commotion or agita-
tion of the mirute parts of the contrary Salts of
the Mixture was quieted , I put the Weather- glafs
firft into cne of thofe two Liquors, and then into
the other , and after remov'd it back into the for-
mer again, without perceiving any difference worth
minding betwixt the coldnefs of the mixture and
that of common Water: And with much the
like fuccefs I repeated the Tryal, after the Water
and the other .Liquor had ftood in the fame room
( unfurniiVd with a Chimney) frr near two dayes
and nights.

And for farther confirmation, I frail add, that
having inftead of the Salt, which I hitherto made
ufe of, taken* fome of the Spirit, that was wont to
rqflie over together with that Salt, and did fo abound

with

8 A New Experiment abmit the

with it, that a good deal of it lay undiflfelved at the
bottom of rhe Liquor > having, I fay, imploy'd this
faline Spirit inftead of the Salt it lelf, and having
for Tryals fake mix'd with k another Spirit, dravvn
in my own Laboratory for the purpofe , which to
me feem'd as like, as could be made, to that whk?h
I had all this while made ufe of*, I found, that the
mixture of tbefe two Liquors ( chough it pfooWd
far fewer Bubbles than I was wont to have ) inftead
of growing Gold, grew Luke-warm, and quickly
impelfd the Liquor in the Weacher-glafs, from a
little above three inches, to as much above eighty
and yet, befides that this laft Spirit was, a? far as
I could perceive, and that after the fame manner,
drawn from the fame Material? with that I had ->s'd
all this while; the Smell and Ttfte, ( which are
both of them peculiar and odd enough ) cOncun'd
to manifeft the two Spirits to be of the feme
kind,

A:*d, for farther proof, I fhaU add, that to fatisfie
my felt the Wore fully, I took a parcel of the fame
Liquor, [had lately ernploy'd Withfuccefs in ma-
king the Frigorifick Mixture, and yet ev'n this Li-
quor, which with the dry Salt would queftionlefs
have produe'd a Fngefa&ive Mixture as well as the
reft had done, which I had a hale before taken out
of the fame Viol; this Liquor (I fay) put to a
new portion of the Saline Spirit afbove-mentkm'd,
though they did not produce minute Bubbles nume-
rous enough to make a Fome ; yet the Mixture, in-
ftead of growing very cold, #rew maniieftly Lake-
warm, not only in tbe Judgment of the Touch, but
by its Operation on a good feal'd Weather- glviV,
carefully and for a competent while imployM tofcx-

amine

Production of Cold, &cf 9

amine the Temper of it. Whereas on the contrary,
having purpofely kept fomeofthe Fngorifick Spi-
rit by the Fire fide, till its temper was fo alter'd,
that it nimbly enough rarified and impell'd up the
Spirit cf Wine contain'd in a feal'd Weathet-glafs,
immers'd in it , and having into this Liquor caft
fomeof the Frigorifick Salt, ev*n whilft the Spirit
of Wine was riling, and would probably haverifen
a pretty while longer ^ this injected Salt, when it
began to be dilTblvM , did not only give a check to
the rifing Liquor, and quickly put a flop to its
afcent ; bur, ( as I expected ) foon rmde it fubfide
again, ti/I it fell about three inches or more (which
was very much in a (Tiort Weather-glafs ) beneath
the Station where the Spirit of Wine had refted,
before the Liquor was fet by the Fire fide; nay, af-
terwards, I try'd, That a Frigorifick Salt, being
well warm'd by the Fire fide, did, with an appro-
priated Liquor , that was alfo warm'd, produce a
coldnefs manifcftlv perceivable by the Weather,
glafs. So that in tnefe cafes a Body but moderately
cold, nay actually warm, haftily reduc'done, actu-
ally warm, or at leaft tepid, to a far greater degree
of actual coldnefs than it felf had.

Thefe are fome of the Experiments I try'd with
the Liquors and Salts, of which, upon allowable
Confederations, I muft now forbear to fet down the
way of preparing: But that ev'n ac prefentl may
not be altogether wanting to the Curious, I de-
vis'd a way of making a Succedanettm to this Expe*
rimeftr, which I ftiall here willingly annex, as that,
which though it be much inferiour to what I may
one day be at liberty to acquaint the Reader with ;
yet it will (hew the main thing intended, bymani-

ftfting,

i o A New Experiment about the

fefting, That Cold may by the mingling of Bodie?
be produced, or increas'd to a degree exceeding
that of either ofctjTe Bodies that compos'd the Mix-
ture ; and this, though at the fame time a feeming
LrTervefcence be made by the Bodies , that thus re-
frigerate each other.

I took then very good Salt of Tartar, and putting
to it a convenient quantity of Spirit of Vinegar,
I did, whilft the mixture was hiding, ( but feem'd
to the touch to have refrigerated the Glafs that con-
tain'd it, ) immerfe into it the Ball of a good feal'd
Thermofcope, furnifh'd with Spirit of Wine. And,
though the Weather-glafs were not much above a
foot long, yet the coldnefs of this Mixture made
the Tinned Liquor defcend, haftily enough, two
inches and almoft a half. And to (hew farther,
That this Mixture was actually colder than cold
Water , removing the Weather-glafs out of the
Mixture into that Liquor, the tincted Spirit began
to re-afcer,d , and that io nimbly , that in about
three minutes ( that the Ball of the Thevmofcope
ftay'd under water ) the Spirit of Wine had re-
afcended about an inch and a half, if not more.
And to try whether this coldnefs of the mix-
ture did proceed from, or depend upon, feme
Texture of the parts, that was not very perma-
nent, and yet did not quite degenerate > imme-
diately after the Ingredients had ceas'd to work
upon one Another ; I remember, that near an hour
after the Ebullition of the Spirit and Salt of
Tartar W2S over, the Thermofcope being re-
mov'd out of the common Water, where it had
flood immers'd, into the Mixture, defc ended about
half an inch 01 more* For want of Salt of Tar-
tar

Production of Cold, &c. 1 1

tar I could not begin the Experiment anew, and fo
am noc fure it will alwayes fucceed uniformly.*
Bat yet to give my felf what
farther fatisfa&ion I could, by * The Author's warU
trying the fame Experiment in ne(sr v*5™*. here a-
falh a my as might d.fcovcr, ^$5^
whether or no the Phtnomc- Experiment did not aU
non did not depend upon , or wajes fucceed.
require fome peculiar Texture
in the fix d Salt that had been employ'd ; I took
fome Alcaly ( made by diffolving Pot-a(hes in fait
water, and reducing them by coagulation to a white
Salt, ) and pouring Spirit df Vinegar to it, I found,
That this mixture did not, whilft it hifs'd, grow at
all colder, but rather fome what warmer* And, for
farther fatisfaft ion, immerfifig into it the Ball of
the newly mention'd Weather-glafs, I found, that
it afcended in a ftiort time about an Inch, and, be-
ing remov'd into the Water, defcended about half
an inch ; and by making removes of it from one of
thefe Liquors into the other two or three times
more, I found, That the Spirit of Wine did rife and
fall according ro what has been newly obferv'd, but
its motions upwards and downwards were both lefs
than before, and more flow.

FINIS.

OBSERVATIONS
AND

EXPERIMENTS

ABOUT THE
S A L T N E S S of the S E A.

By the Honourable ROBERT BOTLE.

ADVERTISEMENT

To the following Obfervations ( which

may alfo fetve for many Hiftorical paflages in
the Author's other Writings. )

W Her cos the Author does frequently make tife of
the Relations of frofeffed Seamen and other
Navigators, and of Olfervathns made fipte in the
Eaft, Jmdfflm) inthe Wtft-Indie«, itwitlbefit to ad-
vertize the Reader.^ that he hat been very wary in ad'
muting the inform it torn that he implodes ; being for-
ward enough tore)* ■ , as he ha* often done,fuch ai ma-
n's others wcmM gladly have received : But notwith-
flanding his wonted rejection tf the particulars be far*
canfe to dule/iefh 'twas Ufa for htm to he well fur-
nifhid with ftch relations as he makes ufe-of \fcarce
any Writer of Pfitlvf-yhic'd things having had fuch op-
p r, unties of receiving fnch Authentic!?. Informations
fr,m SeaCaytnns, Pilots, Planters, and other Tra-
vFleruo remote parts, as were afforded him by the ad'
'o Age he tad jo be many years a member o* the
Council appointed by the King of Great Britain to
tmnr^e tie hUpitfs 9f ill tie Eiiglifli Colonies fh
the I/}*! and Continent of America, and of being for
two or three years one if that Cuurt of Committees ( as
they call it ) that has the (upet intending of all the
affairs of the juftly famotu Eaft-Indian Company of
England.

(O

OBSERVATIONS

AND

EXPERIMENTS

ABOUT THE

S A L T N ESS of the SEA.

THE FIRST SECTION.

Chap. I.

f ft 4He Caufe of the Saltnefs of the Sea
Eg appears by Arijlotie's Writings to

H have bufied theCutiofity of Na«

9 turalifts before his time *, fince

JL which,his Authority, perhaps much
more than hisReafons, did for di-
vers Ages make the Schools and the generality of
Natuialifts of his Opinion, till towards the end
of the laft Century, and the beginning of ours,
fome Learned Men took the boldnefs to queftion
the common Opinion $ fince when the ControYerfie
has been kept oh foot, and, for ought I know, will
befo, as long as 'tis argued on both fides but by
Dialectical Arguments, which may be probable on
G 3 both

2 Observations and Experiments

both fides, bat are not convincing on either. Where-
fore I (hall here briefly deliver fome particulars
about the Saltnefs of the Sea, obtained by my own
tryals, where I was able 5 and where I was not,
by the beft Relations I could procure , efpecially
from Navigators.

Firft then, Whereas the Peripateticks do , after
their Matter AriftotU, derive the Saltnefs of the Sea
from the Aduftion of the Water by the Sun-beams>
h has not been found that I know of, that where no
Salt or Saline Body has been diiTolved in, or extract-
ed by Water expos'd to the Sun or other Heat,
there has been any fuch Saltnefs produc'd in it, as
to juftifie the Arifkotelun Opinion. This may be
gather'd, as to the Operation of the Sun, from the
many Lakes and Ponds of freih Water to be met
with, even in hot Countryes, where they lye expo-
fed to the Aftion of the Sun. And as for other
Heats, having out of Curiofity diftill'd off common
Water in large Glafs Bodies and Heads till all the
Liquor was abftra.dted, without finding at the Bot-
tom the two or three thoufandth parr, by my guefs,
of Salr, among a little white earthy iubltance that
ufually remained. And though I had found a lefs
inconsiderable quantity of Salt, which, I doubt not,
may be met with in fome Waters, I fh'ould not
have been apt to conclude it to have been generated
out of the Water by the Action of the Fire, be-
caufe I have by feveral Tryals purpofely made, and
elfewhere msntion'd, found, that in many places,
( and I doubt not but if I had farther tryed, I fhould
have fou.id the fame in more) common Water, be-
fore ever it *be expofed to the Heat of the Sun or
ather Fire, has in it an eafily difcoverable Saltnefs

of

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 3

of the nature of common Salt, or Sea-Salt, which
two I am not here follicitous to diftinguiflj, becaufe
of the affinity of their Natures, and that in moft
piaces the Salt eaten at Tables, is but Sea-Salt freed
from its Earthy and other Heterogeneities, theab-
fence of which makes it more white than Sea-Salt is
wont to be with us. Tbefe Ufl Words I add, be-
caufe credible Navigators have inform'd me, that
in fome Countryes Sea-Salt without any preparation
coagulates very white i of which Salt I have had,
( from divers parts) and us'd fome parcels.

But fome of the Champions of Ariflotles Opini-
on are fo bold as to alledge Experience for it,
vouching the Teftimony of Scaliger to prove, that
the Sea taftes falter at the top than at the bottom,
where the Water is affirmed to befrefh. But as for
the authority of Scaliger, though I take him to be
an acute Writer, yet, I confefs that, forreafons
el fe where given, I do not allow it that Veneration
which I find given it by very Learned Men, nor am
I over prone, even as to matters of Fact , to acqui-
efce in what he tells us, when lie neither fignifies
that he delivers things'upon his own Experience, or
declares from what credible Information from others
he received them.

'Tis true, that having often obferved, that Sea-
Salt diflblv'd in Water, is upon the recefs of the
fuperfluous Liquor, wont to begin its concretion,
not as moft other Salts do, at either the Lateral or
Lower parts of the Veflfel, but at the top of the
Water, I will not think it impoffible, that fometimes
in very hot Climates or Weather, the Sea may tafte
more fait at the top, than at fome difhnce beneath
it. But confidering how great a proportion of the
G 4 Salt

4 Obfervations and Experiments

Silt common Water is wont to be impregnated with
before it fuffers Saline Concretions to begin , and
how far fhort of that proportion the Salt contained
in the Sea Water is wo:«t to be, infomuch that about
Holland, a Dutch Geographer or two have not
found it to amount to the proportion of one to forty,
ana I in England found it to be no mure than I (hall
hereafter fpecifie ; it Teems not likely

slflhn thhtt that Scaii£er's Obf'ervation was *$
wards the lax- made> an^ lt mu^ ^e vei7 unlikely
terend. that it fhould generally hold, if the

Saltnefs of the Superficial parts of
the Sea be compared with that of the lower parts
ofit.

And yet I do not build my Opinion wholly upon
this Argument of fome Modern Philofophers, That
Salt being a heavier body than Water, muft neceffa-
rily communicate moft Saltnei's to the lowert parts.

For though this Argument be a probable one,
yet Water being a fLia body, the reftlefs agitation
of whofe Corpufcles makes them and the Corpu-
fcles they carry with them peipetually flu ft places,
whereby the fame pans com^ to be ibmetimes at
the Top, and fometimes at the Bottom. This con-
federation, together with what was lately noted of
the peculiar Difpofition of Diffolved Sea Salt, to be-
gin its Coagulation upon the furface of the Water,
may make the Argument we are considering fufp eel-
ed not to be fo cogent, as at fir A fight one may
think it. Which fufpicion I mighc fomewhat coun-
tenance by fubjoynmg, that in divers Metals, and
other tinfted Solutions, I have not ufually ob-
ferv'd the upper part of the Liquor to be maniftfl-
Ij deeper coloured than the lower > though be-

tween

about the Saltnefs of 'the Sea. 5

tween Metalline Bodies and their Menftrmms, he
difproportion of fpeafick gravity does uiually much
exceed that which I have met With, between Sea*
Sale and Common Water.

CHAP, ir.

'A"T"\s urg'd out oij^infeotten by a Learned Mo-
X dsrn Writer, fnat wanting rrefli Water near
, Goa ( the Metropolis of the furtugals in the E#fi-
Indies) they make their Slaves'fetch it, by diving
from the bottom of the Sea, which feems a clear
evincement of the Peripatetick opinion. But in this
Obfervation I cannot acquiefce, for two Reafons :
The. one, becaufe that though what is alledged as
matter o\ Fa& were ftri&ly true, yet fo general a
conclufion could not be fafely drawn from that par-
ticular inftance, fince in other parts of the Sea the
contrary has been found by Experience, as I fhall
flhew ere long. And other reafons than thofe given
by the Peripateticks may be rendred of what hap-
pens at Go«9 which reafons may extend to the like
cafes, if elfewhere they fhall happen to be met
with. For it may very well be, thar Springs of
freili Water may arife in feme parts of the furface
of the Earth, that are cover'd with the Sea, as they
I do in innumerable Vallies and other places of the
Terrwftrial Surface that is not fo covered. Not to
mention thole Springs that appear in divers places
upon a low Ebb, cover'd with the *ea during the
iFiood. The Curious HxngarUn Ve Ai^rA«du Hun-
Governour that gives us an ac- gari* A^is.

count

6 Obfervations and Experiments

count of the wonderful Waters that ennoble his
Countrey, relates , that in the River Vagtu that
runs by the fortrefs Galgotinm, the Veins of hot
Water fpring up in the bottom of the River it felf.
Neqnt in Ripa tantftm, fayes he, trtiun-
Pag* 65 * tnr calidjyfed etiam intra amnem^ fi fan-
(turn ejus fe dibits fufodiasi c a lent an*
tern immodichj &c. Nay , I have been affur'd by
more than our Learned Eye-witnefs, that there is
a place uponthe Neapolitan Coait, where they (and
I think a Writer or two ofthofe parts) obferv'd
the Water to fpring up hot beneath the Surface of
the Sea, infomuch that one of my Relators thruft-
ing in his hand and arm lomewhat deeper than was
convenient , found' there an offenfive degree of
Heat.

Befide?, ( which is my fecond conjecture ) as to
the particular cafe of Goa , I had the curioluy to
enquire of a great Traveller, and a man of Letters,
that Iiv'd in that Cit^and the neighbouring places,
and gave me a pertinent account of them, and efpe-
cially of that place whence the frefh water is fetcb'd
.by the Divers , which his Curioluy led him to vifit,
and take fpecial notice of*, but I found by him,
that the Divers do not now think it needful to fetch
their frefh water fo low as from the bottom of the
Sea, and that by the little depth, whence his and
other mens curioluy causM it to be taken up , he
judg'd it did not fo much come from any frefh wa-
ter Springs vifing at the bottom of the Szz , as from
a fmall River ( whofe name I do not remember )
that not far from thence runs into the Sea, with
fuch a juncture of circumftances, that at the men-
tion'd places, the frefh water does yet keep it felf

tole-

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 7

tolerably diftinft, and is not yet fo far made brack-
ifh, as not to continue potable-, though not very
good. Which conjecture of his I could make
probable, by what I have had from eminent and
obferving men among our own Navigators, touching
the Aiding of Waters one over another, in fome
parts of the Sea, efpecially near the mouths of Ri-
vers. But the difcuflion of this matter , and the
particulars of the Account given me of the fcitua-
tion of tr?e place where Water is div'd for near
Go a, vvould require more words than they would
in this place deferve, unlefs the point under de-
bate were more important to our prefent pur-
pofe.

I might here pretend to "a clear demonftration
by experience of the contrary of what Scaliger deli-
vers, by vouching the teftimony of the Learned Pa-
tricitui who affirms, that being upon the Sea which
takes its denomination from the Ifland of Crete
( now CandU^) he did, in the company of a Vene-
tian MagiftiatejAfo^fw/^o, let down a veffel ( fur-
nifh'd with a weight to fink it ) to the bottom of
the Sea, where, by the help of a contrivance,it was
unftopp'd, andfiird with Water there, which be-
ing drawn up, was found to be not frelh but Salt.
This Experiment, I fay, I could oppofe as a Demon-
ftration zgimft' Scaiiger ; but though it be a very
probable Argument, and more conliderable than any
I have feen brought by the Peripamkks for their
Opinion, yet I confefs it would be more fatisfac"tory
to me, if it would not permit me to fufpeft, that in
the drawing up of the VeiTel through the Salt water,
though there had been Frefti water taken in at the
bottom, the tafte may have been alter'd by the

fub-

8 Obfer vat ions and Experiments

fubingreifion of Salt water, which being bulk for
bulk heavier than Frefh, would by its ppncerouf-
nefs endeavour to fink into the amending VefleJ,
and thereby more eafily expell part of the Fiefh
water, and mingle with the reft. Wherefore I fhall
confirm the Saltnefs of the Sea at the bottom by fome
Obfervations, that are not liable to the fame Obje-
ctions as that of Patricias.

ThefirftisthatofthePerfon, whom IQelfewhere
mention, to be able by help of an Engine to ftay a
confiderable time at rhe bottom of the Sea j for of
him I learn d, among other things that I defir'd to
be inform'd of touching that place, that he found
the Water to have as Salt a tafte there as at the
top.

The next Obfervation I obtainM by means of a
great Traveller into the E*ft and Weft Indies, who
having had the curiofity to vific the famous Pearl-
fifhing at Manar, near the great Cafe of Comori,
anfwer'd me, that he had the fame curiofity that I
cxprefs'd to learn of the Divers, whether they
found tht Water Salt at the bottom of the Sea
whence they fetch their Peirl-fifhes ? and that be
was afTur'd by them that it was fo : And the fame
perfon being -asked by me about the Saltnefs of the
Sea in a certain place under the Tcrrid Zone,
which the relation of a Traveller inclin'd me to
think to abound extraordinarily with Salt, atfirm'd
to me, that not only the Divers affur'd him, that
the Sea was there exceeding Salt at the bottom,
but brought np feveral hard lumps of Salt from
thence, whereof the Fifhermen and others were
wont to make ufe tofeafon their meat, as he him-
felf alio did • which yet I may afcribe not only to

the

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 9

the plenty of Salt already diffolv'd in the Water,
but to the greater indifpofition, thac fome forts of
Salts, whereof this may be one, have, to be dif-
folv'd in that Liquor.

To thefe I (hall add this third Obfervati-on :
Meeting with an inquifitive Engineer, that had fre-
quented the Sea, and had feveral opportunities to
make Obiei vations of other kinds in deep Wa-
teis, I defiVd him that he would take al ong with
him a certain Copper Veflel of mine, furnifh'd
with two Valves opening upwards, and let it down
for me the next time he went to S^a ; on which
occafion he told me, that ( if I pleafed ) I might
favemy felfthe trouble of the intended tryal, for,
with a Tin Veflel very ..little differing from that I
defcribed unto him , he had had the curiofity near
the Straight of Gibraltar s mouth, ( where he had
occafion to ftay a good while ) to fetch up Sea- wa-
ter from the depth of about forty fathom, and
found it to be as fait in tafte as the Water near the
Surface.

Thefe Qbfervations may fuffice to {hew, that the
Sea is Salt at the bottom , in thofe places where
they were made; but yet I thought it was not fit for
me to scquiefce in them , but rather endeavour
to fatisfie my felf, by the beft tryal I could procure
to be made with my Copper Veflel , ( as more
ftrong and fit than a Tinnone,) what Saltnefs
is to be found in the Water at the bottom of
our Seas, not only becaufe it may more concern us
to know that, but chiefly becaufe, though I de-
ny not, that in the fore-going Obfervations the
tafte may fufficiently prove that the Sea is Salt at
the bottom as well as the top , yet I thought the

tafte,

i o Obferva tions and Experiments

tafte, by reafon of the predifpofitions and other
unheeded affections *cis liable unto , no certain way
to judge whether the top and the bottom be
as Salt one as the other. Wherefore I thought it
would be more fatisfa&ory to examine the Sea-
water by vtcigbt than by tafte , and in order
thereunto, having delivered the above-menti-
on'd Inftrument to the Engineer I lately fpake
of, when he was going tq Sea , he fent me, to-
gether with it, a couple of Bottles of Sea-water,
taken up, the one at the top , and the other at the
bottom, at fifteen fathoms deep. The colour and
fmell of thefe two Waters were fomewhat differ-
ing j but when I examind them Hydroftatically,
by weighing a roul of Brimftone firii in one, and
then in the other, I fcarce found any fenfible diffe-
rence at all in their fpecifick gravities. So that if
the degree of the Saltnefs of Sea-water may be
fefely determined by its greater or leffer weight,
then fo far forth as this fingle Experiment inform'd
me, the Saltnefs is equal at the top and bot-
tom of the Sea : I faid, if the degree, &c. becaufe
of what I (hall hereafter take notice of about Salts
of lefs fpecifick gravity than Sea-Salt.

CHAP,

about the Saltnefs oft be Sea. 1 1

CHAP. III.

i

IT follows now that I make our, what I formerly
intimated, That though it were granted, that
near Goa, and perhaps in tome other places , the
Divers may have found the Water frefh at the bot-
tom of the Sea, it would not therefore neceffarily
follow, that the Sea- water, generally fpeaking, is
Frefti at the bottom ; for the Obfervations lately
mentioned fufficientlymanifeft the contrary : And
as to thofe very few places ( if really there have
been any) where the Sea-water has been found
Frefti at the very bottom, I think one may afcribe
the tafteof the Water to the bubbling up of Springs
of Fre(h Water, at, or near enough to, thofe very
places. I know this may appear a Paradox, fince
it may feem altogether unlikely , that fo fmali a
ftream of Water as can be afforded by a Spring,
fliould be able to force ks way up in fpite of the
refinance offo vaft a weight as that of the fuper-
incumbent Sea- water, efpecially fince this Liquor
by reafon of its Saltnefs is heavier in ftecic than
Frefti Water.

But this Objection needs not oblige me to for-
fake my conjecture; for whatever mc ft men believe,
and even Learned men have taught, to the contrary,
it matters not how great the quantity of Liquor be,
which is laterally higher than the Lwer Orifice of
the Pipe or Channel that gives paffage to the Liquor
that is to be impell a up into it ; provided the upper
furface of the Liquor in the Channel or Pipe have a
Sufficient perpendicular height inreferer.ee to that

of

1 2 Obfervations and Experiments

of the ftagnant Water > for no more of all this fluid
will hinder its afcent , than the weight of fuch a
Pillar of the faid fluid as is
V.Sxcv\numpr<).io. direftly fuperincnmbent on it.
i f.4 .Statues. And Suvlnm and j have by diffc-

^^JaZ nng wayes particularly pro-
€S, ved , that, according to the

Laws of the true Hydrotta-
ticks , the prevalency of two Liquors that prefs
againft each other, is not to be determined accor-
ding to the Quantity of them, but to be adjudg'd
to that which exceeds the other in (perpendicu-
lar ) height*, fo that considering the Channel
wherein a Spring runs into the Sea, as a long and
inverted Syphon, if that part of the either neigh-
bouring or more diftant fhore, whence the Spring
or River takes its ourfe, be a neighbouring Hill,
or Rock, or any other place considerably higher,
than that part of the bottom of the Sea (or of the
fhore cover' d with the furface of the Sea ) at which
the Channei, which conveyes Frefli water, termi-
nates, that Liquor will i flue out in fpite of the re-
finance of the Ocean.

To illuftrate at once and prove this Paradox, I
thought upon the following Experiment. I took a
Veflel of a convenient depth* and a Syphon of a
proportionable length, both of them of Glafs, that
their tranfparency might permit us to fee all that
palled within them. Into the larger Veffel we put
a quantity of Sea-water, and into the longer leg of
the Syphon, which had been for that purpofe in-
verted, we poured a convenient quantity of Frefli
water, which we keptftom running out at the fhort-
er leg , by flopping the Orifice of the longer with

the

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 1 3

the thumb or finger : Then this Syphon being fo
plac'd in the greater Veffel, that the Onfice of
the fhorcer leg was a great deal beneath the Surface
of the Salt water, and the Superficies oftbe/Frefh
water in the longer leg was a pretty deal higher than
that of the furrounding Sale water, we unftopped
the orifice of the upper leg, whereby the water in
the Syphon tending to reduce it fejf to an zstq'Aih
hr'mm (or equality of height ^ in both legs, the
water in the upper kg being much higher and hea-
vier than that in the other*, did, by fubfiding, drive
away the Water in the fhorter leg, and make it
fpring out at the orifice cf the (horter leg, in fpite of
the breadth and fpecifick gravity of tta Salt water.
And this impelling upwards of the Frefh water laft-
ed as long as the furface of that water in the longer
leg retained its due height above that of the fur-
founding Sea water , which circumftancelexprefiy
mention, becaufe there being a difference amount-
ing to between a fortieth and fiftieth part betwixt
the fpecifick gravity q^ our Sea water and common
Frefh water, by reafon of the Salt , which makes
the former the heavier, the Frefh water in the long-
er leg of the Syphon ought to be between a fortieth
and fiftieth part higher than the furface of the Sea-
water, to rnaintain the t^quilibrUim betwixt thefe
two Liquors.

To make the fore-mentioned Experiment the
more vifible, 1 thought fit to perform it with Frefh'
Water ting'd with Brafil or Logwood; but that it
might not be objected, that thereby the fpecifick
gravity of the Liquor would be altered or in-
creas'd* I afterwards chofe.to make it withClaret
Wine, which being a Liquor lighter than Common

H' Wa-

14 Obfer vat ions and Experiments

Water, and of a confpicuous colour, is very conve-
nient for our pui poie.

And when I made this tryal , by placing the
Orifice of the fhorter leg at a convenienc diftance
below the furface of the: Sea-water, 'twas not un-
pteafa nt to obferve, how upon the removal of the
Finger that ftopp'd the Orifice of the longer leg,
the quick defcent of the Wine coman'd in that
leg, impell'd the colour'd Liquor in the ftiortet
\t^ aaq made itfpringup, at its Orifice, into the
incumbent Sea-water, in the form of little red
clouds, and fometimes of very (lender Stream?.
And as this fhorier leg of the S/phon was rais'd
more and more towards the furface of the Water,
fo there ifliied out more and more Wine at the
Orifice of it $ the Liquor in the longer leg pro*
portlonably fubfiding , bat yet continuing mani-
festly higher than the furface of the Salt Water,
than which it was inffc.e ^uch lighter.

^f But here I mi give an Advertifement
to prevent a miftake; for if the Syphon be not
exceeding (lender, after the VVine in the longer
leg is fallen doV.i co it's due ftation, a heedful
Obferver may perceive after a while, that though
the Syphon be kept in the fame place, there
will iff.ie out of the fhorter leg a little red
ftresm, which proceeds not from the former im-
puhe of the Wine in the longer leg , but from the
ingrefs of the Sea-water, which being much hea-
vier in facie than Wine, finks into the Cavi-
ty of the "Syphon, and as if comes in on one fide,
thrufts up as much Wine on the other fide of
tnt fvme-' Cavity. But the red Liquor that af-
cends -on this account may be difcern'd to do ^

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 1 5

by its riling more (lowly, and after another man**
ner than that which js impell'd up by the fud-
den fall of the tall Cylinder of Wine in the long-

er leg.

THE SECOND SECTION.

CHAP. I.

AS to theCa/tfe of the Salcnefs of the Sea, I
therein agree with the Learned Gaffendwy
and fome other Modern Writers, That the Sea
derives its Salcnefs from the Salt that is difiblved
in it : But I take that Saltnefs to be fupplied, not
only from Rocks, and other Maffes of Salt, which
at the beginning were, or in fome places may yet
be, found either at the bottom of the Sea? or at
the hdes, where tfte Water can reach them , but al-
fo (to fay nothing here of what ituy perhaps be
contributed by fubterraneal Sceams ) from the Salt,
which the Rains, . Rivers, and other Waters dif-
folve in their paffage through divers parts of the
Earth, and at length carry along with them into
the Sea. For not only 'tis maniTeft enough, that
feveral Countryes afford divers falc Springs, and
other running Water?, that at length terminate
their Courfe in the Sea, but I have fom'etimes fu-
fpe&ed, that ve^'y 'frequently the Earth it felf is
impregnated vfitn CorrMcles, or at lead, Rudi-
ments of common Salt, though no fuch thing be vul-
garly taken notice of. Which fufpicion may be
H a con-

1 6 Obfervations and Experiments

confirm'd ( to omit what I hive clfewhere deli-
vered on another occafion ) partly by the Obferva-
tion of fome eminent Chymifts, vvho affirm them-
felves to have found a not inconfiderable quantity
of exceeding Saline Liquor upon the evaporation
of large quantities cf fome Waters, ( for in fome
others 1 could not find ic,) and principally by the
quantity of common Salt that is ufually found in the
refining of Saltpeter 9 though that be a Salr, which
Sir Francis Bacon, and other experienc'd Writers
teach, that almoft every fat Earth kepr from the
Sun and Rain, and from (pending it (elfin Vege-
tation, will afford.

But having on another occafion diffidently (hew-

urt^LC: w,i(h coron Salt ,n Ty V*

ums# places than are wont to be raken

notice of $ and that 'tis probable,
that by maturation, or otherwife , Sale may daily
grow in the Earth, it will not be necefftry to add
' in this place any thing to wbt I have faid already
to prove, that our Common Terreftrial Salt being
diflblved, may fuffice to make the Sea-water brack-
ifh j and the rather, if we call to mind what has been
formerly (aid about the poffibilit-y of Springs rifing
beneath the furface of the Sea, and of Lumps of ,
Salt that were taken up by Divers, undiffjlved, at
the Bottom of the Sea ; the Ocean may receive fup-
plie's of Salt from Rocks and Springs latent in its
own Bofome , and unfeen even by Philofophers.
And this may be one Reafon, I conceive, (fo? I de-
ryn ;t but that there may be -other s,': as the very
uiuqiaj heat of the Sun,cSr.) why fome Seas are
:o m.ich Salter than others, or atjeaft, why in fome

pla-

about the Szknzfe of the Sea. 1 7

places the Sea-water may be much Salter than in
others.

And as we have feen, That oar common Terre-
ftrial Salt may be copiou fly enough communicated
to the Sea, to impregnate it with as much Saltnefs as
we ob'erve it to have ; fo I do noc fee,that the diffe-
rence between that Salt and Sea-falt is fo great, but
that it may well be fuppos'd to be derived from thofe
Changes that the Terreftual Salt may be liable to,
when it comes into the Sea. For thac the Marine
Salt and the Terreftrial do very well agree in the
main things, may be argued from the refemblance
both in (hape, tafte, &c. that may be obferved be-
tween the grains thac will be produced, if weexpofe
each of them inadiftinft Glafs to fuch a heat, as
mayQowly carry off the fupetfluous Moiflure, and
fuffer them to coagulate into Cubical or almoft Cu-
bical Graines : And the leffer differences that may
be met with between thefe two Salts , may well
enough be fuppos'd producible by the plenty of
Nitrous, Urinous, and other Saline, to which, in
fome places, may be added, Bituminous bodies, thac
by Land- floods and other wife are from time to time
carried into the Sea, and by feveral things that hap-
pen to it there, efpecially by the various agitation
'tis put into by Tides, Winds, Currents, &c. and
( vvhich I would by no means omit ) by its being in
vail quantities expos'd to the Sun and Air.

H3 CHAP,

1 8 Obfervations and Experiments

CHAP. II.

WE may juftfy be the more careful to deter-
mine , whether the Saltnefs of the Sea-
water proceed from Common Salt diflblved in it,
becaufe if it appeared to be fo, we might the more
hopefully attempt to obtain by diftiliation Sweet
water from Sea- water ; fiftcz, if this Liquor bemade-
by the bare d;{folution of Comaion Salt in the
other, 'tis probable, thit a feparation may be made
of them, by fuch a heat as will eafily raife the Aque-
ous parts of Sea-water, without railing the Saline,
whole Dillillation requires a vehement Heat, as
Chymifts well know to their colt. And fuch a me-
thod of Separating Frefh water from that which was
Salt, would make our Doctrine of ufe, and be very
beneficial to Navigation, and consequently to Man-
kind. For in long Voyages, 'tis but too common
for the makers of them, to be liable to hazards and
inconveniencies, for want of Fiefli and Sweetwater,
whereby they are fometimes forced to drink corrupt
brackifh Water, which gives them divers Difeafes,
as particularly the Scurvy , and, the ufual effect of
drinking Salt water, the Dropfie. And Sea-men
are wont to receive fo many other incommodities
by the want of FrelTi water, that, to prevent or fup-
ply it, they are oftentimes forced to change their
courfe, and fail fome hundreds of : miles to a Coaft,
no: only out of their vv^y, butunfafe in it {tlfy and
peihaps more dangerous, by being mfefted by Py-
rats, or in the hands of Enemies or Savage people;
by which meanes they, often lofe the benefit of

.:....»'. , their

about the Saltnefs oft he Sea . 19

their Monfwns, and much more eafily other Winds/
and frequently their Voyage. And thefe are in*
conveniences, which might be in good meafure
prevented, if potable, and at leaft tolerably whul-
fome Water, could be obrai.'d by Diitillanon, in
themidft of the Sea itfelf, to ferve the Sea-men till
they could be fupplie J vvith naturally Fredi water.
To make feme cryals of this , I remember J took
fome Engltjh Sia-water, whence I was able to fe-
paratc betwixt a thirtieth and fortieth part of dry
Sale, and having diftilled it in a glafs head and bo-
dy, with a moderate fire, till a confiderable portion
of it was drawn ov.jr, we could not difcern any
Saltnefs in it by the tafte 5 and befides 'bat I found
it fpecifically lighter than fuch Water as is daily
drunk by Perfons of Quality at London, I expos'd
it to a more Chymical Examen, and did not by that
find any thing of Sea Salt in it, though I hive
at feveral times, by the fame way, manifestly difco-
vered a Saltnefs in in-land Waters, thar are drunk
obvioufiy for fweet Waters. If I would have em-
ployed a Wronger Heat, and VefTels larger and
lower, or otherwife better contriv'd for copious
Diftillation, I might in a ftiorter time have obtain'd
much more diftill'd Water ', but whether fuch Li-
quors will be altogether fowholfome, Experience
touft determine. Yet that Sea-water diftiU'd
even in no very artificial way, may be fo far vvhcl-
fome, as not in hafte to be fenfibly noxious, but at a
pinch ufeful, at leaft for a while, maybe gathered
from ( what occurrs to me fince the writing of the
laft Paper) the Teftimonyof that famous Naviga-
tor, Sir R. Hawkins, who commanded a Fleet in
the Indies for Queen Elizabeth. For he , in the Ju-
H 4. dicious

2 o Obfervations and Experiments

dicious Account he gave the World of his Voyage,
wherein they were d'.ftreffed, even in the Admi*
rals fhip, for want of Frefh Water, has this memo-
InLib.i.page 1578. of rablepaflage ( as I find it ver-
Purchafej out of Sir batim in our diligent Pur-
R. Hawkins hit Voyage, chafe.)

Although our frefh water had failed pu many dayes
£ before we/aw the fhore ) by reafon ofcur long Navi-
gatim without touching any Land) and the e.xcefflve
drinking of the Sick^and Difeafed £ which could not
le excujedy) yet with An invention I had in my Ship, I
eafily drew out of the Water of the Sea fufficient quan-
tity of Frefh water, to fuflain my people, with little ex-
fence of fewel$ for with four billets I ft ill* da hog/head
of Water, and therewith dreffed meat fsr the Sicl^ and
Whde. The Water fo diftilfd we found to be wholfome
and nourifhihg.

And becaufe the potablenefs of Sea- water may
concern the Healths and Lives of men, I fhall here
add, to what I elfewhere deliver about my vvayes of
examining, whether other waters participate of
Salt, two or three Obfervations I made upon thofe
few diflill'd Liquors, I had occafion to draw from
Sea-warer. Having then upon fome of the diftiird
Liquor dropt a* little oyl of Tartar per deliyxivm, I
perceiv'd no clouds at all , or precipitation to be
made, whereas a fmall proportion of that Liquor
being dropt into the undiftiJl'd Sea-water it felf, it
would prefently trouble and make it opacous, and,
though but Qowly, ftnke down a considerable deal
of a whiufh fuMance ( which, of what nature it is,
I need not here declare j ) I found alfo, that a very
fmall proportion of an Urinous Spirit, fuch as that
of Sal Armoniac, would produce a whitifh and curl-*
« - ■ ' .. 1 • ,i , ed

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. a i

ed fubftance ( but not a near fo copious one as the
other Liquor ) in Sea-water, not yet expos'd to
Diftillation, but not in the Liquor drawn from it :
which argued, that there were but few or nofaline
particles of Sea-falc afcended with the Water : For
cKq thefe Alcalizate and Urinous Salts 'would in all
likelihood have found them out, and had a vifible
operation on them. And I farther remember, that
when the DiftiJIation was made in Glafs Veffels,
with an eafie Fire, not only the firft running,
but the Liquor that came over aftei ware's, was not
perceiv'd to be brackifli, but good and potable.
To vvhich agrees' very well, that by a Hyarothti-
cal Tryal 1 found our diliill'd Sea-water to be
lighter m fpecie than commoa Conduit Water,
though it exceeded that in fpecifick Levity, lefs
than 'twas furp:.tfed in the lame quality by diliill'd
Rain-water.

But to return to the Subject whence we have
fomewhar, but, I hope, not ufelefly, digrefs'd • I
know it may be objected , that if the Terre*
ftrial Salts carried by Springs, Rivers, and Land-
floods into the Sea, were the caufe of its falinc
Tafte, thofe Wateis themfelvesmuft be made Salt
by it, before they arrive at the Se?# Bit oeiides,
that this Objection will not reach the Springs and
Rivers of Saltwater, that in feveral places, either
immediately or mediately,cifcharge themfelvesinto
the Sea ; it might conclude againft him that fhould
affirm this imported Saltnefs to be the only caufe of
that of the Sja : But it will not be of force againft
me, who take it to be only a partial caufe, that by
its accelfion contributes to the degree of Saltnefs
we obferve in the Sea, where this imported Said
£., ...... . - may

22 Obfervations and Experiments

may joyn it felf with the Salt it finds there already,
and being detained by it, contribute to the briny-
hefs of the Water.

If it be urg'd, that from hence it will follow, that
the Sea from time to time increafes in Saltneis, I
may fufpend my anfwer till it appear by competent
obfervation that ic does not • which, I think, men
have not yet made tryals thac may warrant them to
affert. And if the matter of fad; were certain, I
think 'twere poifible to give a farther anfwer, and
{hew probable waves, howfo fmall an accefTionof
Salt may be difpers'd by nature, and kept from 'in-
creasing too much.

B

CHAP. III.

Ut now Vs feafonable to confider , that the
I tafte of Sea-water is not fuch a fimple faline
taite , as Spring-water would receive from Sal
Gemot, cr fome other pure Terreftrial Salt diflblved
in it , but a bitterifh taite, that muft be derived
from fome peculiar caufe that Authors are not wont
to take notice of. ' I am not affur'd by any Obfer-
vations of my own, that this recellion from a purely
Saline tafte is likely to be of the very (ame kind,
and to be equally, or very near equally, met with
in all Seas > ( nor to add a doubt whether it be at all
fenflble in fome. ) The caufe both of the bitternefs
and faltnefs too of the Sea-water, is faid to be af-
firmed by Learred Mr. Lidtit, to he aduft and 'bi-
tuminous

about the Saltnefs of the §tz] 23

tuminous Exhalations aicending out of the Eartri
into the Sea, But that there is abundance of aftoal
Salt in the Sea-wacer, to give it its Saline talk and
ponderoufnefs , the Salt, that the Sun does in many
places copionfly feparate horn the Sal tl efs waterifh
parts, fufficient'.y manifeib. But as to the bitterifh
tafte, I think it no eafie matcer to give a true ac-^
count ofir, but am prone to afcnbe it partly to the
operation of fome Catholick Agents upon that vaft
body of the Ocean, and partly to the Alteration
that the Salt receives from the mixture of fome
other things, among which Bitumen may be one of
the principal.

But though I have in another IV T . _, „ e
n D , • r , c In the TraZf of

per (hewn, that in fome places of subterran.Mcn-
the Sea there are confiderable quan- ftruums.
tities of Bitumen, or Bituminous
matter to be met with > yet I dare not derive the
bittemefs of the Sea only from Bituminous Exhala-
tions, but in good part, at leaft, in fome places,
from the liquid and other F»itumen,tbit is imported
by Springs and other Waters into the Sea > of which
we have an eminent inftance in that which our
Englifh call Barbadoes Tar, according to the relati-
on I had of it from an inquifltive Gentleman, who
is one of the chief Planters of the iGand, and took
j^Ieafure to obferve this liquid Bitumen to be carri-
ed in confiderable quantities from the Rocks into
the Sea ; and I think itpoffible enough, that fome
of the Springs that rife under the furface of the Sea,
may carry up with them Bituminous matter, which
may help to make the Saltnefs of the Sea degene-
rate^ of which more perhaps elfewherej^) as I not
long fince made mention of Springs , as well of hot
1 ■,'» -, .;■ •• \ : ■ ■■'• as

24 Obfervations and Experiments

as cold water, riling beneath the furface of the Sea.
And this minds me to intimate here, that I have
fufpe&ed, that in fome places the Sulphureous Ex-
halations, and other emidions from the fubmarine
parts of the Earth, may fometimes contribute to
change the faline tafteof the Sea-water: For I have
elfewhere related, how not only Sulphureous
Steams, but fometifnes Actual Flames have broken
through (rom the lower parts of the Sea to the up-
permoft} and have fometimes taken pleafure to
make by Art a rude imitation of that Vh&nomtnon.
And partly fome Experiments of my own , and
partly ibme other Inducements , have perfwaded
me, that divers1 times ( for I do not fay alwayes )
Sea Salt does not obfcuiely participate of Combu-
ftible Sulphur, of which I may fpeak farther on an-
other occafion. But in regard that the tafte of the
Sea-water is not in all parts or the Ocean uniform,
it may here furfice to take notice in general, that
this difference of tafte may partly be caus'd by ad-
ventitious bodies of feveral kinds , of which 'els
probable, that in differing place? the Sea-water
does varioufly partake. And not to mention here
the fragrant fmell of Violets, which has by feveral,
and particularly by an Eminent Perfon, of whom I
enquired about it, been obferved, in fome hot
Countries, to proceed from Sea Salt *, I have di-
vers other Inducements to think that it is ufually
riollmpIeSalt, nor free from mixture. For by more
wayes than one, and particularly by cohobating
from it its own Spirit, we have obtained a dry Sub-
limate, which feemed to be no Pure, but a Com-
pounded Body.

And

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 25

And now to come to that which I intimated
might be one of the caufes, why the rafte of Sea-
water is not the fame with thac of Common Sale
diflblved in Freffi Water; I ftiall add, that I have
fufpecte'i, that the various motion of the Sea, and its
being expofed to the aclion of the Air and San, may
contribute to give it a tafte ocher than Saline ^ which
ftifpicion might be confirmed by the Obfervation I
elfewhere mention of the Sea Salt, which, by barely
being expos'd for many months to the Air, and fome-
times perhaps put into a gentle agitation by a dige-
fhve Heat, I found to have a very manifeftly differ-
ing tafte from the fimple Solution of Sea Salt in
Common water.

I might here endeavour the faiths* confirmation
of my Difcourfe, by what I have learned by in-
quiry from Navigators, about the manifeftly differ-
ing Colours> and other Qualities of the differing
parts of the Sea, which feem to argue, that 'tis not
every where of fuch a Uniform Subftance as men
vulgarly imagined, and that vaft Trails of it are
imbued with ftupendious multitudes of adventitious
Corpufcles, which, by feveral wayes diverfifying
its parts, keep it from being a fimple Solution of
Salt. But ©f this Subject I have not leifure to dif-
courfe here , only becaufe 'tis generally thought,
that the Sea-water is, by reafon of the Saltnefs it a-
bounds witb,uncapableof Putrefaction*, I will add,
That having kept a pretty quantity of Sea-water,
that I had caufed to be purpofely taken up between
the £«g/i/Z> and French fhores, in a good newrund-
. let, in a place where the S.immer Sun beat freely
upon it, it did, in a few weeks, acquire a ftrongly
ftinking fmell • though, that the Experiment had

been

£(> Obfervdtions and Experiments

been more fatisfa&ory, I wifhed that it had been
made in a VefTel of G.iafs or Earth, inftead of Wood.
But a much better Obfervation I procut'd from a
much efteemed Navigator of my acquaintance, who
having failed often in the Indian and African Seas,
I enquired of him, whether he had ever in thofe
hoc Clirnats, where the Sea is fuppofed to be
very Salt, observed it to ftink, for want of Agi-
tation or otherwife : To which he anfwer'd, That
once being, though it was but in March) becalmed,
in a place he named to me, for 12 or i4dayes, the
Sea, for want of motion, and by reafon of the Heat,
began to ftink, infomuch that, he thinks, if the
Calm had continued much longer , the ftench
would have poyfoned him : They were freed from
it as foonas the Wind began to agitate the Water,
and broke the Superficies, which' alfo drove away
ftoreof the Sea Tortoifes,and a fort of Fifti, whole
Engiifr name I know not, that before lay basking
themfelves on the top of the Water.

And to this agrees very well the notable Obfer-
vation, that I fince met with, of the el'fewhere com-
mended Sr R. Hawkins, who, among other confi-
derable things he takes notice of m his Relations,
h^s this paflage, toourprefent
furchaps Pilgrims f Were "u not for the mo-

rn Sir R. Hawkins r . r * • J, , „

Obfervations. Vlng of the Sea by the force of

Winds, Tides, and Currents , it
vk.hU corrupt all the world* The Experience I faw
Anno 1590, lying with a Fleet about the I (lands of
Azores, almofi fix months , the grcajeft fart of the
time we were becalmed ; with which all the Sea became
fo replenififd with fever a I forts of GeMes, and forms
nf Serpents, Aiders and Snakes , oi'fcmd wonderful,

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 27

feme green, fome blacky fome yel/ow, fome whit e> fome
of divers colours , and many of them bid life ; and
feme there were a yard and a half, and two yards long,
which had I not feen , I could hardly have believed*
And hereof are wit neffe sail the company of t hi' Ships
which were then prefent, fo that hardly a man could
draw a bucket of water clear of fome corruption* In
which Voyage, towards the end thereof, many of every
Ship fell lic^ of this Difeafe, and began to dye apace,
hut that the fpeedy pajfage into our Country was a reme-
dy to the craved, and a prefervative for thofe that
were not touched*

THE THIRD SECTION.

CHAP, I.

AS for the various Degrees of the Sdtnefs of the
Sea , Authors are wont to be filent of it,
fave that fome Navigators tell us, that they obferved
fome Seas to have a more, and others a lefs Saline
tafte > which you will eafily believe has not afford*
ed me much fatisfaft ion. And on the other fide,
my want of opportunity to make Tryals my felf,
will confine me to acquaint you with no more than
the few following Obfervations.

1. To a Learned man that was to fail *o places of
differing Latitudes in x\\tTorrid Zone, I deliver'd a
Glafs Inftrumenr, el fe where described, fitted by the
greater or Jeffer Emerfion of the upper part,tofnew,

accu-

28 Ohfervdtions and Experiments

accurnely enough for ufe, the greater jorlefs fpeci-
fick Gravity of the Salt Water it was put to fwim
in. This he put from time to time into the Sea-
Water, as he failed towards the Indies, whence he
wrote me word , That he found,' by the Glafs, the
Searvt ater to increafe in ve eight , the nearer he came
to the Line, till he arrived at a certain degree of La-
titude , as he remembers, it was about the thirtieth ;
after vthichy the Water feemed to retain the fame Spe^
cifick^ Gravity % till he came to the Barbadoes or Ja-
maica.

2. Another ObfervationI obtainM by Inquiry
of an Ingenious Perfon and a Scholar, at his return
outofthe Eaft Indies, who affirm'd to me, that he,
and a Gentleman of my acquaintance, took up
Bottles full of Sea«water,both under the EquinoUial,
and alio off the Cafe of good Hope , which lies in
about 54 Degrees of Southern Latitude, and found
the Warers of thefe diftant parts of the Ocean to
be of the fame weight. And though it may well
be doubted, whether this Obfervation, being made
vyith ordinary Bottles, were fo exa$ as could be
winYd, yet the Perfons being curious, and making
it for their own fa ti section*, and my Relator ha-
ving, in both the recited places, fill'd with the S:a-
water he took up and weight, having, I fay, filfd .
the fame Bottles ^ fince this Veffel held two quarts,
(which muft be above four pounds of Salt-water,^*
if the difparity of weight had been confderable , ft
would in likelihood have been found, at leaft mani-
fefHy fenfble in fueha weight of Liquor.

3. Inquiring of an obferving Perfon, that had
been at Mfambi'fis , which ,>s thought to be one
of the hotteft places in the World, whether he did

net

about the SAtmk of the Sea* 29

not there find the Sea to be more than ordinarily
Salt* he anfwered me, that, coming thither in i
great Carack, when he ca-me b j ck from the Town*
to the Ship, he obfervcl near two hands breadth of
the Veflfcl to be above the ordinary part, to which
it ufed to fink *, inforrtuch that he took notice of it '
to the Captain, as fearing that pm of the lading
had been by ftealth carried to the friore : But the '
Pilot, who had made thirteen or fourteen Voy-
ages to the Indies, atfur'd him* what he had obser-
ved about the Ship was not unufaal in that place,
where the tafte it felf difcover'd the Water to be
exceeding Salt.

Nor need we fcruple to' think, -that fome Sea-
Waters may be very much more' irripregnated '
with Salt than ours ; for Water will naturally'
diffolve, and retain a far greater proportion of
Salt, than that which is commonly met with in the
Sea. For whereas a thirty fifth, or thirtieth^ or at
moft a twenty fifth part of Salt will make Water
more Saline than is found in many Seas, I am* by
a Friend of mine that is Mafter of a Silt-work,
inform'd, that the Water of his Springs afford
him a twelfth part?of good White Salt, and that
another Spring not far off, yields no lefs than an
eighth part. To which, (to avoid anticipation)
I fhall not here add, what I dial! hereafter h$v|"
occafion to fay of the fulleft impregnation of Wate#-
with Common Salt.

(~ Whilft I was reviewing tbefe Papers, there-
came feafonably to my hands a Letter written froin
MulUtatany on the Gulf of BettgaU in the £>/?-'
Indies, by an ingenious GentletriarK, SS Wilhd'm'
Langborn, that is intrufted with the care of the Etif

I lijh

50 Obfervations and Experiments

lijh Fa&ories in tbofe parts; out of which Let-
ter the following paffage is verbatim tranfcribed*
" I did, in order to your command, caufe fome Wa-
<c ter to be faved under the Line, at our firft zcc^s
" to it , intending , for want of good fcales and
" weights , ( being none to be come at aboard the
4 c Ship ) to have kept it until it could be weighed,
*l but by the forgetfulnefs of a fervant, it was thrown
" away. Off the Cape, in 37 i. 00 m. Southern Ia-
€f titude, I faved fome again , and through the fame
c<want ofweights, was fain to keep it until Icame
" to the Line again * and then made the beft ftiift I
u could for weights, and compared it With the Wa-
lter there, filling the fame Bottle again to the fame
*« height by a mark, and found it exactly the fame
«c weight. The weight I have taken ; but accounting
c* this a journey of bufinefs , left thofe notes, and
" moft of the like nature , behind me • in my next
<c it (hall be inferted. ]

CHAP. IL

IT remains now , that, according to my promife,
I fet down what I obferved my felf concerning
*he Saltnefs of our Sea between England and
France ; not in comparifon with the Saltnefs of
other Seas, whofe Waters I had not to compare
with, but as to the proportion of Salt contained in
it to the Water. And though one would think it re->
ry eafie to make tryals of this fort for a perfon not

un-

about the Saknefs of the Sea. 3 1

unacquainted with Hydroftatical practices nor un-
furnilhed with Instruments, yet, I confefs, that
three or four tryals that I made, not all of them the
fame way, made me find it more difficult than was
imagined to arrive at any thing of certainty in thii
inquiry.

This you will eafily believe, if 1 annex the fub-
ftancc of fome Experiments^ that, I remember, i
made about the gravity of Sea Water * which I had
order'd to be taken up, fome at the depth of about
fifteen Fathom fomewhat near our (hoar, and fome
in another place of the Channel between England
and France*

The fum of the firft Experiment is this : We
took a Vial, fitted with a long and {trait neck, pur-
pofely made for fuch tryals, and having countet-
pois'd it, filPd it to a certain height with common
Conduit water: We noted the Weight of that,Liquor^
which being poured out, the Vial was fill'd to the
fame height with Sea Water , taken up at the furface,
and by the difference between the two weights , the
Sea water appeared to be about a forty fifth part
heavier than the other.

The fecond Tryal ( which was for more accurate*
tiefs made Hydrofhticaiiy,) I find tegifter'd to
this effe& : We carefully counterpoised in
the Scales, formerly made ufe of, a piece of Sul-
phur in the upper Sea water, formerly mention'd •
k weigh'd^J? + 10 i gr. and being alfo weigh'd
in the Sea water fetch'd from thebottorrr,gave us the
Came weight §j? -h 10 \ gr. which flisw'd thofe
two Waters to be of the fame Specifick Gravity:
And then to compare this With the gravity of com-
moti Water; we tfeigh'd the fame Sulphar in com-
12 rrbri

3 2 Obfervations and Experiments

irion Cenduit Water, and found it %fi 4- 15 * gn
By which it appear'd , that the Sea-water was but
about a fifty third part heavier than this Water :
which is fuch a difference from the proportion found
out by the former way of tfyal, that I could not well
imagine what to attribute it to, unlefs the Sea-
water by long (tending in a VelTel, which, though
cover'd, was expos'd to the hot Sun, may both have
been rarified, and have had fome feparation made
of ks Saline or other heavier parts, on which fcore
that portion we took up for our tryal* might appear
lighter than elfe it would have done ; or unlefs, the
Experiment having been made in London , where
great and fudden rains and other accidents will
fometimes vifibly vary the confidence of common
Water, the Liquor, I then employ 'd without exa-
mining it, might be more ponderous at that time
than at another. To which latter fufpicionl was
the more indin'd, becaufe, having afterwards weigh 'd
the fame piece of Sulphur by help of the fame bal-
Iance in diftill'd rain water, I found the weight of
the former liquor to exceed that of the latter by a
good deal lefs than a thirty fifth part • which feem'd
to make it probable , that if the Water, we chancM
to employ, had been free from all Saline and other
heavy particles, the difference formerly mentioned
betwixt this Obfervation and the fore-going would
not have been near fo great as it was.

The laft way I made ufe of to examine the pro-
portion betwixt Sea-water and Freili , was Chy-
mical ; whereof my Regifter affords me this ac-
count,

A pound ( H werdupis weight ) of the upper
Sea-water, was weigh'd out, and put into a head and

body

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 33

body to be diftill'd in a digeftive farnace ad fie «-
mm% and the Diftillation being leifurely made, the
bottom of the glafs was almoft cover'd with fair
grains of Salt, {hot into Cubical figures, and more
white than was expe&ed 5 in the reft of the coagu-
lated matter we took not notice of any determinate
fhape. The Salt being weigh'd amounted to |/f,
Havsrdupoh, and lOgr. At which rate the pro-
portion of the Salt to the Water will be that of 30
and <&fe to one, and fo will amount to near the thir-
tieth part ; which was fo much greater than the for-
mer wayesof tryal madeusexpeft, that I know not
whether it may not be worth while to try, whether
fucha flow abftra&ion as we employ of the fupei flu-
ous Water, and our doing it in clofe Veflels, may
not have afforded us more Salt than elfe we fhould
have obtain'd*

To this Relation I find this note fubjoyn'd : Su-
fpe&ing that there may have fomewhat elfe con*
curr'd to our finding fo great a proportion of Sale,
I fuffer'd thar, which had been weighed, to continue
a while in the Scale, and foon perceiv'd, that,accor-
ding to my conjecture, that fcale began manifeftly
to preponderate, and that confequently fome of the
unexpected weight of Salt may be due to the moi-
fture of the Air, imbib'd after the Salt was taken
out of the Glafs,and laid by to be weighed : Where-
fore, caufing it to be very well heated and dried in
a Crucible, we found it to weigh fiij. + fi. ( that
is 210 gr. ) upon which account, the proportion of
Salt containM in the Water was a thirty fixtbpart,
and fomewhat above half of thofe parts, and to ex-
prefs it in the neareft whole number , a thirty fe-
venth parr*

1 3 From

34 Obfirvations and Experiments

From whence this greater proportion of Salt by
Di Puliation, than ou.r other Tryals invited us to ex-
pect, proceeded , Teems not To eafie to be determi-
ned*, unlefs it be fuppofed ( as I have fometirnes
JTulpe&ed) that the Operation, the Sea- water was
expofed to in Diftillation, made fome kind of change
in iff other and greater than before-hand one would
have look'd for ; and that, though the grains cf Salt
we gained out of the Sea-water, feem'd to be dry
before vve weigh'd ir, yet the Saline Corpufdes,
upon their concreting into Cubes, did fo intercept
between them many fmall particles of Water, as
pot to fuffet them to be driven away by a moderate
warmth, and confequently fuch grains of Salt may
hare upon this account been lefs pure and more
ponderous than elie they would have been. And I
might heie add, that I fometirnes make a certain
Artificial Salt, which though being diflblv'd in Wa-
tej, it will fhoot into Cryftals finely fhaped , and
dry enough to be reducible into powder, yet coa-
gulates W*ter enough with it to make the Water
aJmoft,if not quite, as heavy again as before. And
I have beenafluredby a very Learned Eye-witnefs,
that there is a fort of Sea Salt, vvhich they bring
to fome parts of England from the Coaft of Spain
or Portugal , which being hert ailTolved, and redu-
ced by Purification and Filtration to a much whiter
Salt, will yield by meafure fomewhat above two
Bufrtels for one. But to fatisfie the fcruples and
fufpicionsl could fuggeft, would require more try-
als than I have now time or opportunity to make.
\0iat has been already deJiver'd, may give at leaft
as fcrapulous an account of the Salmefsof our Eng-
Jjfi Sea-water?, as moft other Experimenters would

have

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 35

have thought it needful to give. And to make a
determination with any certainty about the degrees
of the Seas Saltnefs in general , a great number of
Obfervacion?, made in different Climates and in di-
ftant pares of the Ocean, would be neceffary.

CHAP. III.

I Know not whether I may be fo indulgent to my
fufpicions as to wife , that Obfervations were
needfully made, Whether in the fame Sea, and about
the fame part of it, the Waters be alwayes equally
Salt ? For, though chat be taken for granted,yet fincc
we have no good Obfervations long (ince made to
iilence the fufpicion, one may fufpe<§, that, at lead
in many places, the Saltnefs of the Sea may conti-
nually, though but very (lowly , increafe by the ac-
ceflion of thofe Saline Corpufcles that are imported
by Salt-Springs , and thofe which Rivers and Land-
floods do from time to time rob the Earth of. And
I fufpeel it to be not impoffible, that this or that
part of the Sea may be fometimes extraordinarily,
and perhaps fuddenly, impregnated with an additio-
nal Saltnefs from Saline fleams plentifully amend-
ing into it, from thofe Subterraneal
Fires, about which I have made it in.the TralLs. °'
elfewhere probable, that they may £SS£T»
burn beneath the bottom of the Sea,
and fometimes fend forth copious Exhalations into
it. But it may prove the more difficult to difceri*
I 4 this

$6 Obfervations and Experiments

this adventitious Saltnefs, uhlefs tbe tafte as well as
ballance be employed about. if, becaufe the Salt,
that produces ir, may be of fucb a Nature as to be
much lighter infpecie than common Sea Salt. And
the mention or this leads me to give you here the
Advertifement I promifed you not long ago.

That chough the weight of Sea-water be as good
a way as is yet employed (and better than fome o-
thers ) to determine what Sea- water does moft a-
bound in Salt ; and though it be pofTible, that in our
Se%and perhaps in almoft all others, this way be not
liable to any considerable uncertainty^ yet I think
it not impoflible, that it may fometimes deceive us,
efpeciilly in very hot Regions » becaufe I have ob-
ferved, that there may be Volatile Salts, which,
though by reafon of their activity they makefmart
irnpreflions on the tongue, and give the water imbu-
ed with them a ftrong Saline tatte, yet they add ve-
ry little, and muchlefs than one would think , to its
Specifick gravity : as I have tryed, by Hydroftati-
cally examining Diftill'd liquors, abounding in Vo-
latile and Urinous Salts, fome of which I found very
little heavier than Common Water, and confe-
quently nothing near fo much heavier as they would
have been made,, if they had been brought to fofharp
a tafte, by having nothing but common Sea Salt dif-
fol ved in them : So tha",if in any particular place,by
any other way, or from the Steams of the Earth be-
neath, ( fome of which, I elfewhere fhew, may be
very analogous to thofe afforded by SjlArmonitc^)
the Sea fhould be copioufly impregnated with fuch
kind oflight Salts, the Sea- water may be much more
(ak to the tafte, and yet be very little heavier. Fct
confirmation of which I find among my notes, that

weiah-

about the Saltnefs of the Sea. 3 7

weighing a feal'd buble of Glafs, made heavy by an
included Metal , firft in Spirit of Sal Armoniac^
that tafted much ftionger than Sea-water ,it weighed
3iij -h 51 %gr. and weighing this fame body in fair
Water, it weighed but Jiij + 45 | gr. fo that
notwithstanding its great Saltnefs, the Spirit was
Jighter than Comrnon water i though a good pare
of that comparative Levity may probably be afcribed
to the Liquor wherein the Saline Particles fivarm,
which, by Diftillation, was grown more defecated
and light than Common, though clean, Water.

But for a farther proof, we took a hard lump of
Sal Armoniack, , and though we could not weigh it
in Water, hecanfe that would have diflblv'd part
of ir, yet by a way (I elfewftere teach) I found,
that weighing in the fame Liquor this lump of Sal
Armoniackt and a lump of good white Sea Salt,
( brought me as a Curiofity out of the Torrid Zone)
the proportion of the latter to a bulk of the Liquor
equal to it, was fomething ( though exceeding little)
above that of two and a quarter to one , and the
proportion of Sal Armoniac^ to as much Water
as was equal likewife to it , did not above a Cen-
tefm exceed that of one and ^ to one ; which falls
fo fhort of the other proportion as may juft-
ly feem ftrange , efpecially if it be confidered,
that the factitious Sal Armoniac^ the Chymifts
generally ufe, and we emplof , confifts in good
part of Sea Salt, which abates much of the Compa-
rative Levity it might have,if it were made up only
of Urinous and Fuliginous Salts , which were ics
other ingredients.

It were indifcreet for me to propofe any more
fufpicions and tryals fitted to dear wem , unlefs I

kr.ev

3 8 Obfervations and Experiments

knew thofe I have already mention'd would not pad
for Extravagancies j and therefore I (hould here dif-
mifs the Sib;e6t of this Tract of the Saknefs of the
Sea, bat that iince I have been difcourfing of the
degrees of it, it will not be impertinent to add,
what is the greateft meafure of Saknefs that I have
brought Water to , without the help of external
Heat. On this occafion I employed two differing
vvayes , the one was by putting into a well-coun-
terpoyfed Vial two Ounces of Common- water,
and then putting into it well dryed and white com-
mon Salt, and fhaking them together till the Li-
quor would, w&i/ft toldy diflclve no more : This Li-
quor, thus glutted with Salt, weighed n 50 grains,
from which two Ounces being deducted , the
overplus of weight-, arifing from the diffolved Salt,.
amounted to 190 gr* fo that a parcel of Salt will
without hear be diffolved in about five times its
weight, or very little more, of common Water.
By which proportion we made fo ftrong a brine,
that divers pieces of Amber , being purpofely let
fall into ir, emerged, and floated on it. The other
and better way, yet more tedious , that we made
ufe of, was, to let Sea- Salt run per deHqrium, (as
the Chymifts fpeak ) that is, to fet it in fome moid
place, till it was diffolved by thz Aqueous Va-
pours that fwim in the Air. In this Liquor we
weighed a piece of Sulphur, which we aifo weighed
in Sea-water, wherein, finding it to weigh much
more than in the former Liquor, it appeared that
the Sea- water was in Specie much lighter than
the other > though how much their gravities diL
fer'd, I cannot find among my Nctes,nor be inform-
ed by my Memory.

And

about the Saknefe of the Sea. 39

And becaufc I have not in any Author met with
the proportion of Sea Salt to Water of the fame
bulk, nor perceive that Hydroftaticians themfelves
have yet attempted any way to investigate it, ( pro-
bably deterr'd by the eafie diflblublenefsof Salt in
Water ) I (hall here fubjoyn , that by the help of
an Expedient I have elfewhere taught, I have exa-
min'd a hard dry lump of Sea-Salt, and found its
proportion in weight to common Water of the fame
Dulk, to be almofi as 2 to i, ( for it exceededthe
ratio of I t% to i. ) And, I remember, I found
the Specifick Weight of a hard and figur'd lump
of Sal Gemm ( which fort of Salt, I fuppofe to be
fomewhat more pure and ponderous than Sea Salt )
to be to that of Water ( very near ) as 2 i to 1.

FINIS.

THE FOURTH SECTION

Belonging to the TaSt formerly Pub-
lilVd under che Title,

Relations about the Bottom of
the S E A

By the Honourable ROBERT BOTLE.

ADVERTlSEMENf

TO THE

R E A D E R.

His StttionfiuHli havibeenffiSjiyned to the Re-
Jadons about the Bottom of the Sea, vhcn that
Difcourfe wot printed* together with fome other Trafis
at Oxford, An. 167 1, but it a* by the Negligence of
himy that fbwldhave carried it to the Prejs, fevered
from the reft of that Tratt, and notfeafoAably deliver d
to the Printer.

CO

THE FOURTH SECTION

Belonging to cheTrS& intitul'd,

Relations about the Bottom of the
SEA

■4 He prefence cf the Air is not only
fo neceflary to the Life of many
forts of Animals, but it hath like-
wife fo great a ftroke in the growth
of Vegetables, efpecially of the
larger forts, that, after what I had
experimented about thefe matters > (of which this
is not the proper place to give an account) I thought
fit to make enquiry about the Vegetation and
growth of Plants of confiderable Bulk in thofe fu6«
marine Regions , where if there grow any , they
muft do it remote from the free contact of an ambi-
ent A ir. And having not now the leifui e to repeat
what Betanifis ( of vvhofe Books I am not now
provided ) deliver about leffer Plants growing
under Water , I (hall now onely prefent you with
what information I could procure from Naviga-
tors, about Trees and Fruit growing at the bottom
of the Sea.

To
I

a Relations about the

To what I have elfewhere had occafion to
fay to their Opinion, that will not allow Coral ro
be really a Stony Plant, but a Livelefs Concrete,-
that is alwayes hard and brittle under Water ; I
ftiall now add, that, inquiring lately of an Eminent
and Inquifitive Perfon , that had fpent fome nine
upon the Coaft of Africa , where be had been
prefent at the fifhing of Coral, and learning from
his anfwer, that he had feen it not far from Algiers.^
I ask'd him, whether he had himfclf obferv5d the
Coral to be foft, and not red, when 'twas newly
brought from the bottom of the Sea. To which
he replied , that he had found it foft and flexi-
ble; and that, as for the colour, it was for the
moft part very pale , but with an eye of red, the
Bark being worfe coloured than the fubftance it co-
ver'd was ; but when the Bark was taken off, and
the other part expofed to the Air, the expe&ed
rednefs of the Coral difclos'd it felf.

When I demanded, whether he had obferved,
that any inky fap afcended to nourifh the (to-
ny Plant ? and whether he had feen any thing
like Berries upon it .? He ingenuoufly confeiTed to
me, he had not been fo curious as purpofely to
make inquiry into thofe Particulars , but that he
remembred, That having broken fome of the large
pieces of Coral , he took notice , that the more
internal Subftance was much paler than the other,
and very whitifh, and that at the extream parts
of fome branches or fprigs heobferv'd little black-
ifh knobs, which he did not then know what to
make of : And when I enquir'd, what depth the
Sea was of in that place? he anfwer'd, that 'twas
nine or ten fathom. But a.s to the Fruit of fome

kinds

Bottom of the Sek. 3

kinds of Coral , if I do not much mifremember^
I was, not long fmce , allured by a. Scholar tbac
navigated much in the Eaft, that they divers times
meet with in thofe Seas a certain for* of Coral,
but not .white, which bears a fmall Fruit like a
round Berry, of a pleafant colour, and efteem'd as
rarities.

♦ Difcourfing with 2 perfon that made Dfoin'g
his Trade, whether he fi3d not met with any
Trees or Fruit in the depths of the Sea > He told
me, that in a great Ship, vvhereinto he defcended,
to recover thence feme fhipwrack'd G^ods, hs
was furpriz'd to find in feveral places a certain
fort of Fruit, that he knew not what to makfc
of ; for he found them of a flimy and foft conii*
ftence, about the bignefs of Apples , but not fo
round in rhape, and when he brought them up incc
the Air^ as he did many of them, they foon began
to fhrink up like old rotten Apples, but were
much harder , and more (hrivelV; And 'tis re»
markable , that this happened in a cold Northern
Sea.

One that made a considerable ftay abdut Ma*
nary a place I have often mention'd, anfwer'd me,
that he learn'd from the Divers, that in fome places
thereabouts there grows at the bottom pretty ftorc
of a certain fort of Trees, bearing Leaves almoft
like thofe of Laurel, as alfo a certain fruit; but of
what virtue, or other ufe, he had not the Curiofitjr
to enquire;

I was alfo infdrm'd by an Eye-witnefs, th*t

near the famous Coaft of M>f*mbiqH'e in Afrit^

there grows at the Bottom of the Sea ftore of

Trees, that bear a certain Fruit* which he deferibe*

K to.

4 Relations about the

to be very like that, which in America they are
wont to call Acayu, the Leaves alio refembhng thofe
of that Tree*

B.it the* welcomed Information I could procure
about Sub-marine Plants, is that which concerns
the famous MaUivian Nut , or Coco , which is fo
highly efteem'd in theEaft, that fome write, it is a
great Prefent from one King to another , and even
much extoll'd in Europe by experience Pbyfici-
ans : For the Origine of this dear Drug is almoft
as much controverted as the Alexitenal Virtues
are extoll'd. Having then once the good fortune
to meet with a man of Letters, that had refided in
thofe unfrequented iGands, I found he had been
as inquifitive as I could reafonably expect about
thefe aHmir'd Productions of the Sea , and that
he had often learn'd from the Divers* that they
are real Nuts or Fruits b rn by a fort of Coco-
Trees that grow at the Bottom of the Sea, and
•are thence either torn off by the agitation of
the Water , or gathered by the Divers* Thefe
Fruits are fmaller than moft other forts of Coco's,
vvhofe maturity they do not feem to arrive at. He
thinks, the Species may have been very differing
from what it is, and may have come from Nurs
fallen into the Sea , together with the ruine of
fome little Iflands undermin'd by the Waer, and
fo fubmerg'd 5 of which, he told me , he faw at
leaft three or four inftances during his ftay there.
He told me, that whilft the Fruit was under Wa-
ter, they obfevv'd no diftinft ftiell and kernell, but
the entire Nut was fo foft, that it may be eafify
enough cut with a knife , and was eaten like
their other Fruits > but being kept about a Week

in

Bottom of the Seal 5

in the hot Air , it grows folid , and fo hard as
to require good Steel Tools to work upon it. He
added, that though even upon the place the fairer
fort be of very great efteem , yet "not of any
fuch prodigious price as is given out. And he
prefented me, one about the bignefs of a large
Egg, and a Fragment of another, which are both
very hard ; but as for their Virtues, I can yet fay
nothing upon Tryal, for want of having had fitting
Opportunities.

Other Obfervations made at the Bottom of the
Sea may hereafter follow.

FINIS.

Ki

•

I

I A

i P A R A D

O

X

O F T H E

N A T U R

A

L

AND

Preternatural

State

of

B O D I

E

s,

Efpecially of the A I R.

By the Honourable ROBERT BQTLE.

ADVERTISEMENT.

AN^attem'vue Reorder Ml eafipy be ptrfwaded by a
couple of parages in the following Papers that
it is only a Fragment, But though the Author , for
certain Reafon/%has for divers years fuppre fs *d the other.
Djfcburjks tgatbeldigfrjln fame Tre-atifje j yfthewfo
content to let this come abroad without them 5 not only
bscaufe, relating chiefly to the Air, it may fitly be con"
forted with thofe Papers concerning fome Qualities of
the Ai^fbich h- accompanies ; but btcwfy "'tis Ikjd,
it ma} prevent , or put an end to,feveral Mnnecejjary
Difputes ttbotit-tty fylatural and Forcd Conftittttion of
the Air ( warmly agitated among Learnt dtnen^) by
[hewing them 1 9 be founded, fome upon precarious J rup~
portions y and more upon Vulgar Miflakcs.

(O

O F T H E

NATURAL

AND

Preternatural State

o F

BODIES,

Efpecially the AIR-

I Know, that not only in Living, but even in
Inanimate, Bodies, of which alone I here
difcourfe, men have univerfally admitted
the famous Diftin&ion between the Natu-
ral and Preternatural or Violent ftate of
Bodies, and do daily, without the leaft fcru-
pie, found upon it Hyfnhefes and Ratiocinations,
as if it were moft certain, that (what they, call
Nature ) had purpofely framed Rodies in fuch a
determinate ftate, and were alwayes watchful that
they fhould not by any external Violence be put
out of it.

K 4 But

2 Of the Natural iff Preternatural

But notwithftanding fo general a confent of men
in this point , I confefs, I cannot yet be fatisfied
about it in the fence wherein it is wont to be taken.
"I'M not that I believe , that there is no fencey in
which, or in the account upon which, a Bxiy may be
(aid to be in its natural ftate ; but that I think the
common Diftinction of a natural and violent ftatc of
Bodies has not been clearly explained, and confide-
rately fetled, and both is not well grounded, and is
oftentimes 4ll applyfel. For, when I confider, that
whatever (late a Body be put into , or kept in, it
obtains orretairsthat ftate according to the Catho-
Iick Laws of Nature , I cannot think it fit to deny,
th^c,in this ; fence, the Bd3y^ropos'd is in a nattt*
ral ihte ; but then, upon the fame ground 'twill be
hard to deny, but that thofe Bodies, which are faid
to be in a violent flare , may alio be in a natural one,
. iince the violence, they are prefumed tofuffer from
outward Agents; is likewife exercifed no otherwife
than according to the eftablilried Laws of Llniverfal
Nature. 'Tis true , that when men look upon a
Body as in a preternatural ftace, they have an idea of
n differing from that which they had whilft they be-
hev'd it to be in a natnral ftate ; But perhaps this
difference arifes chiefly from hence, that they (Jo
not confider the condition of the Body, as it refute
from the Catholick Laws fetled among things Cor-
poreal, and relates to the Univerfe, but eftimate it
With reference to what they fuppofe is convenient
or inconvenient for the particular Body it felf. But
however it feems to me, that mens determining a.
Body co be in a natural or preternatural Hate has
suuch more in it, either of cafual, or of arbitrary,
or both, than they are aware of. For oftentimes we

think

State of Bodies, &c. 3

think a Body to be brought into a violent ftate, not
becaufe really the former was not fo, but becaufe
there is a notable change made in it by fome Agent,
which we alfo take notice of* whereas before the
action of that Agent, if the Body were under any
violence, 'twas exercis'd by ufual, but often imma-
nifeft Agents , though perhaps their Compulfion
were not left, but only lefs heeded. And fometimes
alfo no more is to be underftood by a Bodies being
fore'd from its Natural Hate , than that it has loft
that,which it had immediately, or a pretty while be-
fore fome notable change. Which Conjectures I
fhall now endeavour to confirm, bur with great bre-
vity.

I have already (hewn, that Matter being devoid
of fenfe and appetite, cannot be truly and proper-
ly faid to Affect one ftate or condition more than
another , and confequently has no true defire to
continue in any one ftate, or to recover it when once
loft y and Inanimate bodies are fuch, and in fuch a
ftate, not as the material parts they confift of, elect-
ed or deiired to make them , but as the natural A-
gents, that brought together and rang'd thofe parts,
actually made them. As a piece of Wax is uncon-
cern'd, whether you give it the fhapeof a Sphere,or
a Cone, or a Pillar, or a Boat ; and whether, when
it has that form, you change it into any other > the
matter ftill retaining without willingnefs or unwil*-
lingnefs, becaufe without perception, that figure or
ftate which the laft action of the Agents (your fin-
gers or inftruments ) determined it to , and left
it in.

• But this will be belt underftood , as well as con-
firmed, by particular examples. I need not tell you,

that

4 Oftbe Natural is? Preternatural .

that the moft ufual inftar.ce alledg'd to ihe.v, that
a ft ate is natural to a Body , and that bei s pu out
of it by external caufes it will upon the ceffation of
their violence be reftored thereunto, is, Tna< Wa-
ter being heated by the Fire, as foon as that ad-
ventitious Heat vanishes, returns to its native cold-
nefs ; and fo when, by an excefs of Cold, it is con-
gealed into Ice, it does upon a thaw lofe thac pre-
ternatural hardnefs , and recover the fluidity that
naturally belongs to it : And the fame may be
likewife faid of Butter, which, being melted by ex-
ternal Heat into a Liquor , does upon the ceflation
of that Heat grow a confident body again. But per-
haps thefe inftances will rather countenance our
Paradox than difprove it. For as to the coldnefs
whereto Water heated by the Fire returns when
'tisremov'd thence, it may be faid, that the acqui-
red Heat confiftmg but in the various and brisk
agitation of the Corpufcles of th^ Water by an ex-
ternal agent, h need be no wonder, that when that
Agent ceafes to operate, the erred of its operation
fhould ceafe too, and the water be left in its for-
mer condition, whether wo. fuppofe it to have been
heated by the actual pervafion of the Corpufcles of
the Fire, which by degrees fly away into the Air >
or that the Heat proceeds from an agitation impart-
ed by the Fire to the Aqueous Corpufcles, which
muft by degrees lofe that new agitation, by commu-
nicating it little bv little to the contiguous Air and
Veffel i fo that, if he farmer agitation of the par- '
tides of the Water, were, as is ufual, much more
languid than thac of our Organs of Feeling, in which
faintnefs of motion the coldnefs of Wafer confift-
ed, there will be no need of any pofitive internal

form,

State of Bodies, &c. 5

form, or any care of Nature to account for the Wa-
ters growing cold again. This will be confum'd by
the consideration of what happens to Ice, which is
faid to be Water brought into a preterna rai iiare
by an excefs of Cold. For, I doub-, 5. v 11 not be ea-
fily demonftrated, that in reference to the nature of
things, and not to our arbitrary ideas of them, Ice is
Water preternaturally harden'd by Cold, and not
Water Ice preternaturally thawM by Heat, For if
you urge, that Ice left to itfelf will, when the Fri-
gorifick agents are removed, return to Water; I
iliali readily anfwer, that, not to mention the Snow
and Ice that lyes all the Summer long unthawed up-
on the tops of the Alps and other high mountains ,
I have learn'd, by inquiry purpofely made, from a'
Doctor of Pbyfick, who for divers years pra&ifed
in -Mufcovy, that in fome parts of Siberia (a large
Province belonging to the Rxffian Emperour ) the
furface of the ground continues more Months of the
year frozen, by what is call'd the natural Tempera-
ture of the Climate, than thaw'd by the Heat of the
Sun \ and that a little beneath the furface of the
ground, the Water, that chances to be lodged in the
cavities of the Soil, continues frozen all the year j
fo that, when in the heat of Summer the Fields are
covered with Corn, if then you dig a foot or two,
perhaps Iefs, you {hall eafily find Ice and a frozen
Soil : So that a man born and bred in the inland
part of that Country, and informed only by his own
Obfervation , may probably look upon Water as
Ice violently melted by thatCeleftial Fire, the Sun,
whole heat is there fo vehement in their fhort Sum-
mer, as to ripen their Harveft in Iefs time than in our
Tempeiate Climates wiHeafilv be credited.

On

6 Of the Natural iff Preternatural

On the other fide we in England look upon melt-
ed Batter, as brought into. a violent ftate by the
Operation of the Fire , and therefore think , that
when being remov'd from the Fire it becomes a
confident Body again, it has but recovered its Na-
tive Conftitution. Whereas there are divers parts
of the Eaft Indies, and, I doubt not, of other hot
Countryes, whofe Inhabitants, if they (hould fee
confident Batter ( as fometimes by the care and in-
duftry of the Europeans they may do ) they would
think it to be brought to a preternatural ftate, by
fome artificial way of Refrigeration. For in thofe
parts or the Indies I fpeak of, ( though not in all
others) the conftant temper of the Air being ca-
pable to entertain as much of agitation as fuffices
for fluidity in the parts of what in our Climate
would be Butter, 'twould be in vain to expect, that,
by being left to it felf in the Air, it fhould become
a confident Body. And I have learn'd by diligent
inquiry of Sea»men and Travellers, both Englifb
and others, that were Eye-witneffes of what they
told me, that, in divers parts of thofe hot Regions,
Batter, unlefs by the Europeans or their difciples
purpofely made in the Cold, is all the year fluid,
and fold, or difpens'd, not as confiftent Bodies, by
weight, but as Liquors, by meafure. To ftrengthen i
this Obfervation, I {hall add , what was affirmM to
me by a Learned man, that pra&is'd Phyfick in the
warmer parts of America, namely, that he met in
fome places with feveral Druggs, which, though
they there teem to be Balfoms, as Turpentine, &%.
are with us, and retain'd that confiftence in thofe
Climates yet when they come into our colder Re-
gions, harden into Gums, and continue fuch both

Win-

State of Bodies, &cA 7

Winter and Summer. On the other fide, inqui-
ring alfo of a Traveller, vers'd in Phyfical things,
about the Effe&s of great Heat in the in. land part
ef Africa, where he had lately been ; he told me,
among other things, that Raifin otfoUp, which.
when he carried it out of England, was of a confi-
ftence not only dry but brittle, did, when, and a
while before, he came to Moroe go, melt into a fub-
ftance like Turpentine > fo that fome of it that he
had made up into Pills, would no more at ill retain
that ftiape , but remain as it were melted all the
while he ftayed in that City, and the neighbouring
Countrey, though when he came back to the bor-
ders of Sfain, it return'd to its former confidence.
Which I the lefs wordetd at, becaufe, having had
the curiofity toconfider fome parcels of Gam Lace a,
(of which Sealing Wax is made) newly brought
afhore from the Eaft Indies, though it be a hard and
folid Gum , yet 1 found by feveral inftances, that,
paffipg through the Torrid Zone, divers pieces of it,
notwithstanding the fhelter afforded it by the great
Ship it cam& in, had been, by the Heat of the Cli-
mate, melted, *nd made to (iick together, though
afterwards they regain'd their former Confidence,
though not altogether their former Colour. And
on this occafion I fhdl add, that I learn'd by in-
quiry from a particular acquaintance of mine, who
brought me divers rarities out of America, that ha-
ving at the place where 'twas made , among other
things, fuvnifhed himfelf with a quantity of the beft
A]<oes, he obferved , that whilft he fail'd through
v ry hoc Climates, it was fo foft, that, like liquid
Pit h, it would often have fallen out of the wide-
mouth'd Veflel he kept it in, if he had not from

time

8 Of the Natural (jy Preternatural

time to time been careful to prevent it. But when
he came within a hundred.Leagnes of the Coaft of
England, it grew hard , and fo continued, thodgh
this were in a very warm feafon of the year, being
about the Dog-dayes.

For further confirmation of what has been hi-
therto difcourled , be pleafed to confider with me
that moft obvious Body , the Air% or the Atmo-
fphere we Jive and breath in. For though feveral
Opinions and Argumentations are founded upon
what their Authors call the Natural and Preterna-
tural or Violent ftate of the Air, yet hetbatcon-
fiders, (hall find it no eafie thing to determine,
what ftate of the Air ought to be reputed its truly
Natural ftate, unlefs in the fence I formerly told
you I employ that exprertion in. I will not mfift
on the Heat and Coldnefs of the Air > for, that be-
ing manifeftly very differing in the heart of Winter,
and in the heat of Summer, and in differing Regions
of the Air, as at the top and bottom of high
mountains, at the fame time, and conftantly in dif-
fering Regions of the Earth, as in Barbary and
Greenland, 'twill not be fo eafie to determine what
ftate is natural to the Air. But that only which I
{hall now confider, is its ftate or tone in reference
to Rarity and Denfity. For, fince the Air is believed
to be condenfed by Cold and expanded by Heat ,
I demand, at what time of the year , and in what
Countrey, the Air fhall be reputed to be in its N*-
txrai ftate? For, if you name any one time, as the
Winter, or the Summer, I will ask, why that muft
be the ftandard of the tone of the Air rather than
another Seafon, oratleaft exclufively toall others?
And the like difficulty may be made about the Cli-
mate

State of Bodies, ckc. 9

mate or the Place. And theie cruptes are the more
allowable to be propos'd , becaufe Lear red men
have delivered, that in fome Countryes the Mtrcvr
r? in ihe Torricellian Experiment, is kept higher than
in others, ( as in Sweden than in 'Italy, ) ana our Ba-
roscopes inform us, that oftentimes , in the fame
place and day, the Qiiick.filver toi the fame Inft.ru-
ment does considerably vary its height ; which
fhews, that the Air or Atmofphere muit neceffarily
vary its weight, and therefore probably its degree of
Rarity or Denfity.

But I have yet to propofe a farther Conrlderati-
on in this Affair : For, what if it iriall appear, that
neither in Winter nor in Summer, in S&tdm or in
Italy, or in whatever Country, Region, or Seafon
you pleafe, the Air we breath in is in any other
than a Preternatural (tare; nay, that even when we
have vehemently agitated and expanded it by an in-
tenfe heat of the Ere, it is not yet violently ran-
fied, but yet violently conftipated , unlefs in our
fence before declared, you underftand with me the
Preternatural ftate of Rarefaction in the Air, in re-
ference to the tone it had before the laft notable
change was produe'd in it. This will, I queftion
not, feem a furpriztng, if not a wild, Paradox : But
yet to make it probable, I (hall only defoe you to
reflect upon two or three of my PhyPieo-A4uhankAl
Experiments; and there you will fee, firft, that
the Air being a Body abounding with fpnngy par-
ticles, not devoid of Gravity > the inferiour mult
be comprefs'd by the weight of all the incumbent-
And next , that this Compreffion is fo great, that
though by the heat of the Fire neither others nor
we could bring a portion of included Air to be ex-
panded

i o Of the Natural & Preternatural

paneled to above fourfcore times its former fpace ;
yet without heat, by barely taking off the preffure
of the {uperiour Air, by the help of our Pneuma-
tical Engine, the Air was rarified more than twice
as much : And fince thofe Experiments were pub-
lifhed, I more than once rarified it to above five
hundred times its ufual Dimenfions > fo that, if ac-
cording to what is generally agreed on and taught, a
Body be then in a Preternatural ftate, when by an
external force it is kept in a condition, from which
it inceffantly tends to get free ; and if it be then
moft near its Natural ftate , when it has the moft
profperoufly endeavoured to free it felf from exter-
nal force, and comply with its never-ceafing ten-
dency ; if this be fo, I fay, then the Air we live in
is conftantly in a Preternatural ftate of Gomprefli-
on by External force. And when it is moft cf all ra-
rified by the Fire, or by our Engine, its Springs ha-
ving then fat more conveniency than before to dis-
play themfelves, which they continually tend to do,
it anfwerably approaches to its Natural ftate, which
is to be yet lefs comprefled or not at all. And I have
carefully try'd for many months together, that when
the Air has been rarified much more than even a
vehement heat will bring it to be, yet if it were
fene'd from the preffure of the external Air , it
would not ftirinkto its former dimenfions, as if it
had been put into a violent ftate, from whence Na-
ture would reduce it to them, but continued in that
great and feemingly preternatural degree of exten-
sion, as long as I had occafion to obferve it* One
might here (hew, that this odd conftitution of the
Air is fo expedient, if not neceflary for the Motion,
Refpiration, and other ufes of Animals, and in par-
ticular

State of Bodies, &c. i i

ticular of men , that the Providence and Goodnefs
of the Wife Author of the Univerfe is thereby
fignally declared $ it it were not improper in fuch
a Paper as this to imployfinai Caufes* Wherefore
to avoid the imputation of impertinence, I will con-
clude, by taking notice that from what has been
delivered we may learn two thing? confiderable
enough, if not in themfelves, yet to fome paffages
of the Treatife, whereof this Paper makes a parti
And firft, we may deduce from what has been faid
of the Air, that according to what is noted above,
that may fometimes generally be granted and be-
liev'd to be the Natural ftate of a Body, not which
it really affe&s to be in , or ( to fpeak more proper-
ly ) has a tendency to attain, but thac which it's
brought into and kept in by the action or refiftance
of neighbouring Bodies* or by fuch a concoutfe of
Agents and Caufes as will not fuller it to pafs into
another (late* And the fecond thing we may hence
learn is, that whatever men fay of Natures never:
milling her aimj and that nothing violenc is dura-
ble i yet, bating an incoflfiderable Portion of Aerial
particles at the upper furface, for ought we know
the Whole mafs of the Air we live in, and which
invirons the whote Terraqueous Globe , has been
from the worlds beginnings and wili be to its end*
kept in a ftate of violent Compreflion.

f / N l 5>

1

r

A STATICAL

Hygrofcope

Propofed to be farther tryed,

Together with

A BRIEF ACCOUNT

O F T HE

Utilities of Hygroscopes,

By the Honourable ROBERT BOTLE,
Fellow of the Royal Society.

$«99

LONDON^

Printed by E. fa fot R. Davis, Bookfellet
iti Oxford, 1673,

Oi) •

A
STATICAL HYGROSCOPE

Propofed to be farther tryed,

In a Letter to H. Oldenburgh Efq;

Secretary to the

ROYAL SOG IET Y.

SIR,

T Hough I wit to you from Stanton
an account of thole Hygro;a;pes,
whereof I now prefent you one $
yet, fince I remember chat it was
in the year 1665 ^ac * *"ent y°a
that Paper, I fear you may by :ins
time have forgotten mach of what ic contain'd , and
thereby made it fit for me in this Letter, both to re-
mind you of fome former paiT.ges , and to add for.u
Obfetvations that lately occilA to me • and rh;s
the rather , becaufe I do not prdcntyou with (his
trifle meerly to gratifie your Curion*y, but that you
L 3 and

2 A Statical Hygrofcope propofed

and fome of your ingenious friends may, by your
remarks, help me to difcover to what inconvenien-
ces our Inftrument is liable ,, how fa* they may be
avoided or leffenM , or what the ufes or advantages
of it may be, notwithftanding its inevitable incorive-
niences or imperfections.

Having had occafion amongft other fubje&s re-
lating to the Air, to confider its Moifture, and its
Drynefs, I eafiiy diicern'd that they had no fmall
influence upon divers Bodies ; and among the reft,
upon thofe of men, as the ambient Air we breath
in, either paffes from one of thofe Qualities to the
other, or even from one degree to the other in the
fame quality. l '

Wherefore I began to cart about fpmewhat fcllici-
toufly for a way that might better than any I had yet
tryed,or elfewhere met with, difcover the changes
of the Aicas. to moifture and drynefs , and the de-
grees of either quality. For which purpofe it feem'd
to me, that, if a Statical Hygrofcope could be had,
it would be very convenient, in regard of it s firngfs,
both to determine the degrees of the moifturear
drynefs of the Air, and to tranfmi^the QbfervatK
onsmade of th::m to others. Whereupon 6oiifider-
ing further, that among Bodies other wife fopll qua-
fined for fuc'h a purpofe, that was likelieffcjto give
the fcnfibleft "informations of the charrg&W the
Air, which, in refpecl of its bulk, had the rnoft of
its iu r face expofed thereunto > I quickly pitch'd up-,
ci) a fine Spunge , as that which is eafiiy portable,
not eafie to be divided or diflipated , which, by its
readinefs to fqak in Water, feem'd likely to imbibe
the Aqueous particles that it may meet with di-:

fpers'd

to he further tryed> &ct £

fpers'd in the Air, and which, by its great potonf-
nefs throughout,has much more otSuferficies in refe-
rence to its bulk, than any Body not otherwife lefs
fit for the intended ufe that came into my thoughts.
If you recall to mind, when and whence I firft
gave you notice that I employed our little inftru-
ment, you will eafily believe, that the Inducements
I had to pitch upon it, were , that I fliould need
but fuch light and parable things , as I could eafily
both procure in the Country ( where I then was)
and carry about with me in the frequent removes I
was obliged to make $ and therefore that I did
not reprefent this trifle as the beft Hygrofcope that
could be devifed, or even as the beft that perhaps
I my felf could have propounded, if I would have
fram'd an elaborate Engine with Wheels, Springs,
or equivalent Weights, Pullies, Indices, and other
contrivances, fome of which I divers years ago
made ufe of* For I little doubt, but that Mechanical
heads may frame Hygrofcopes much curioufer and
perfe&er than chat I now fend you , or any othsc
I have ufedor feen, if they may be accommodated
with fufficientroom, and dextrous Artificers that
will work exactly according to directions; whereair
my defign being not fo much to ■ 'make, a Machinal
or Engine-like, as i Statical Hygrofcofe9znd fuch
an one as may be fimple, cheap, contained and <fet
up in a little room, eafie to be made and tranfport-
ed, I thought i; might be of fome ufe, efpecially to
thofe that are not furnifhedvvith Curiofities and
Mechanical Accommodations , if among the feveral
forms of Hygrofcopes that I, hd in my. mind, I
chofeone, that Wtingftaticat and eafie, might be as
L 4 com-

^ A Statical Hjgrofcope propofed

commodious by its fiaiplicity, as fome others by
their'elabor'atenefs y efpecially if we confider, that,
as flight an inftrument as it feems, it may be a.p-
plyed to various ufe's, fame of which aie not flight,
as will ere long be made probable.

Ifl (hould be here told by one, that grants the
prefevablenefs of Statical Hygrofcopes in (he ge-
neral, that there are divtrs Bodies, other than that
pitch' d upon by me, whofe weight may vary when
the Temperature of the Air is confiderably altered
as to drynefs and moifture, and that perhaps among
thefe, fome one may be found that may imbibe the
Aqueous particles of the Air better than our
Spunge ; I (hall not refolutely deny it, and theie-
fore (hall leave yoa to make tryals with what other
3odies you (hall think fit, contenting my felfto
have fuggefted in general the conveniency of ma-
king Hygrofcopes, where the differing changes of
the Air may be eftimated by weight $ but this I
ihall tell you in favour of our Spunge, that when I
was confideriqg, what Bodies were the fitteft to be
employed for the making of Statical Hygrofcopes,
-I made tryal of more than one that feem'd not the
leaft promising. I know, that Common or Sea-
Salt will much relent in moift Air, and Salt of Tar-
tar will doit much more. ; but then thofe Salts, efpe-
cially the latter, will mot fo eafilyas they (hould,
■part with the Aqueous Corpufcles they have once
imbibed, and are in other regards ,. ( which 'twere
hot worth while to infift on,-) lefs convenient than
3 Spunge. J made tryal arfo"with Lute- firings,
Wfrich were purpofcly chofen very (lender , that
fhey might (lave the greater furface in refpeft of

their

to be further tryed, &c. y

their bulk; thefe I found at firft to do very w.Jl,
as to the imbibing of the moifture of the At, but
afterwards they did not continue to anfwe: my ex-
pe&ation. I caus'd like wife to be turn'd out of a
light wood a Cup, which, ttoat it might lefs bar-
den a tender balance, had, inftead of afoot, a little
button, to which a hair might be tied, to fufpend
it by; and this Cup being purpofely turn'd very
thin , that it might have much furface expofed to
the Air, proved for a pretty while fo good a Hygro-
fcope, as invited me to make divers Obfervations
with it, fome of the which I have ftill by me. It
agreed alfo with feveral tryals, that I had made on
other occafions , of the poroufnefs of fuch Bodies,
that white Sheeps Leather, fuch as Chirurgeons
us'd to fpread plaifters upon, would be very
convenient for my purpofe. And indeed I found
by many Obfervations, whofe fuccefs you may
command a fight of, that if this Leather were a
fubftance as little obnoxious to Corruption
as a Spunge , it would, by its copious imbi-
bitions and emiflions of the Aerial moifture, be
a fitter matter than any other I had employed for a
Hygrofcbpe.

But taking all things together, I found no Bo-
dy fo convenient for my purpofe as a Spunge ,
which you will perhaps the more eafily believe,
if I add, that to help me to make fome eftimate
of the porofity of it, [ We weigh'd out a dram of
fine Spunge, and having fuffer'd it to foak up
what Water it could, it Was held in the Air,
not only whilft the weight' of the Water would
eafily make it run out, but till it dropt fo very

flowly,

6 A Statical Hygrofeopepropofed

fiovvly , that a hundred was reckoned after one
drop bdore another fell ; then patting it into
fhe balance it had been weighed in before , we
found , that as its dimenfions were increafecl to
the Eye, fo its . weight was increased npon the
fcale, amounting now to fomewhat above two
Ounces and two Drams > fo that one Dram of
Spunge, though it feem*d not altogether fo fine as
the portion we had chofen out for our Hygrofcopes,
did imbibe and retain feventeen times its weight
of Water. ]

Now wh*P one is refolved to employ a
Spunge, there will not need to be much added
about the turning it into a Hygrpfcofc* For, ha*
ving weigh'd it when the Air is of a moderate
Temperature, it requires but to be put into one
of the fcal.es of a good balance fufpended on a
Gibbet (as -they call it) or fome other fix'd and
ftable fupporter. For the Spunge being care-
fully comnerpoifed at firft with a metalline weight
( becaufe that shas not fenfibly with the chan-
ges of the Air) it will by its decrement' or in-
creafe of weight fhew , how much the neigh-
bouring Air is grown dryer or moifter in the
place where the inftrumeut is kept. The weight'
of the Spunge may be greater or lefs according
to the bignefs and goodnefs of the balance, and
the accuratenefs you deiire in the difcoveries it
is to make you. For my'jpart^ though I have
for Curioficie's fake with very tender fcales
imployed for a good while' but half a dram:, of
Spunge, and I found it to aiifwer my expe&a-
tiers, well enough. *, and .though, when I usM a

bulk

to be further tryedy&fc* j

bulk diverg times as great , in a ftronger, but
propdnionably lefs accurate, balance, I found not
the Experiment fuccefsjefs ; yet after tryals with
differing •quantities, of Spunge, I preferr'd , both
to a greater and lefler weight >2 that of a dram,
as not being heavy enough to overburden tne
finer fort of Goldfmitbs fcales, and yet great e-
nough to difcover changes confiderably minute,
fince they would turn difcernabiy with a fixteenth
or twentieth part, and manifeft/y with half a quar-
ter of a grain.

With fuch Hygrofcofes as thefe ( wherein the
balance ought to be flill kept Mpended and
charged ) I made feveral tryals, as my removes
and accommodations would permit, fometimes in
the Spring, and fometimes in the Autumn, and
fometimes alfo in the Summer and Winter. But
neverthelefs it would be very welcome to
me , if you and fome of your Friends would be
pleated ttf -.make tryals your felves, and compare
them with mine, and efpecially take notice, if you
can, whether in any reafonable tra& of Time
there will be any lofs ( worth noting ) of the
fubftance of the Spunge it felf; I having not
hitherto difcover'd any* In the mean time, to
invite you to give your felves this trouble > af-
ter I have told you , that having once , among
divers removes,- had the opportunity to keep a
dram of Spunge fufpended during a whole Spring,
and a great part of the preceding Winter and
fubfequent Summer, I did not think my pains
loft , though divers of the obfervations they af-
forded me have unhappily been fo , among ma-
ny

1

8 A Statical Hygrofcopepropofed&c.

ny other memorials about Experiments of differ-
ing kinds > notwitbftanding which unfeafonable loft
I (hall venture tofuggeft fome things to you, that
occurr'd to me about the Utilities of the Inftru-
ments I am treating of.

A BRIEF

(9)

A

BRIEF ACCOUNT

O F T H E

Utilities of H ygroscopes.

r

J m iHeufe el* Hygrofcope is either
general or particular : The for-
mer is almoft coincident with the
Qualifications to be wifhed for
and aim*d it in the Inftrument it
felf; The latter points out the
particular applications that may be made of it
when 'tis duely qualified. Of each of thefe I (hall
briefly fubjoyn what readily occurrs to me.

The general ufe of a Hygrofcope is , To eflimate
the changes of the Air^ <u to moi flare and drynefs, hy
•mayes of measuring tbemy eafie to he known, frovidt d,
and communicated.

I might here pretend, That as thefe are the prin-
cipal things that have been defir'd in Hygrofcopes,
to *cis obvious from the defcription and account we

have

1 o A Brief Aiaunt of the

have given of our Inftrument, that thefe advantages
belong, to u iii. no very defpicable degree- And |
that to rmkeliich Hygrofcopeis as will p«rf<5nii all
thefe things in perfection, whatever it may -foem to
a Mental contriver, will, I fear, prove no eafie
task to thofe that really attempt it. To thefe things
I might add , that if fuch allowances be made , as \
what I have reprefented may invite you to grant,1
the QualificatiQnjsJately ipeotiori/sdy-as^ldk^Ie in

in ours, when we (hall come to mention the particu- ;
lar ufes of it. And as for thy ^conveying to o-
thers the Observations made v^ith it, you may pleafe
to confider, that the things J^employ tp aeafure
the degrees of drytafe and'rrfefciira i8 ti&m) \&
ing grains, parts of grains, and greater weights, the
acceffions of moifture which the Spunge receives,or
the loffes that itfuffers, can be cafUy and at the fame
time both found and deternWd. And as the weight*
imployed to determine thefe differences m eafily
procurable > fo the Observations made with them,
may (together vyith patterns, if it fhould b^Beedful,
Qf the weights themfelves) vyith the farneYatility
be communicated by Letters even to remote parts*
In which conyeniency, whether, and how far, our
Inftrument has. the advantage of that made with an
Own beard', ;and fome others that. I have imployed,
I leave yoa to confkier.

I might farther alledge on the' behalf of our In*
ftrument, that whereas, be'fiaes the Qualifications
above mentioned, there is another, namjcj.y ,.Du-
rablencfs, which though not (p neceffary' to con-
ftitute a Hygrofcope, yet is neceffary, as. ."will ere
long appear* to fome of the confiderableft ufes of it:

And

Utilities of Hygrofafes. 1 1

An4 wbtreai fuch a Durablenefs is WinSed, as may
nofonly keep the -Inftrurtient from having its Cub*
ftanc* rotted oar corrupted by the Airy but may alfd
preierve it in a capac-ity to continue pretty uniform-
ly its Informations of the Air's moifture, even
when that increafe<rvery much, "or latts very Jong;
Whmati I fay, thefe things ate much defied in a Hy-
grofcope, our Spunge feems herein preferable to
the Oacen beard, Lute-fti ings, &c. Fcsr in thofe and
the like Bodies the felf-contra&ing or relaxing
power' (as 'tis fuppos'd ) or the~drfpo(ition to
imbibe and part With the moifture of the Air uni-
formly or after a due manner , is wont : to be in n6
very .long time alter 'd or impaired ; and particular*
ly, when they have imbib'd much aerial moifture,
they are very faintly affected by the iupervening
degrees of it, and fo the operation is too difprc
port&nate to what the like Caufe Would have pro^
duc'd, when the Inftrument was well difpos'd*
ivhereas in our Spunge neither the 'degree 'offprint
ginefs, nor any fuch 'like quality is confider'd, and
it is capable of imbibing fo much more of the Aque*
ous particles, than even moift Airs and Sea ions are
wont to fupply it with, that there is little fear th^t
it will be glutted, dr have its pores chdaked up with
them, fo that the 'decrements and acceffions of
weight will be mote proportionate to the degree of
moiftuie-in the Air,- and more reducible to known
and determinate meafures.

But though thefe- and the like fpecious things may
be rcprefenced in favour of our Statical Hygrofcope*
yety to deal ingenuoufly with you, I much fear, that
'twill be very difficult to bring either Statical ones,
or perhaps any other, to be fo compleat as to fatis-

fie

12 A Brief Account of the

fie a nice and fevere Critick. And you would per-
haps eafily affent to-my Opinion, if it were not too
tedious to entertain you with all the fpeoslative
doubts and fcrupies, as well Mechanical asPhyfi*
cal, which my accuftom'd diffidence has now and
then fuggefted toHie# Butbeeaufe fuch a fceptical
Difcourfe would be too tedious, and alfo fomewhat
improper to be proposed by one that would recom-
mend Hygrofcopes, I (hall only now take notice
of one great Imperfection, which all that I have
been acquainted with are liable to; namelvjthat
men have not yet found, nor perhaps fo much as
dream'd of Peeking, a Standard of the Drynefs and
MoiftureoftheAir, by relation to- which, Hygro*
meters may at firft be adjufted, and fo be com*
par'd with one another, as we fee many of
thofe feal'd Thermofcopes , that have been made
and juftn'd by Mr, Shotgrmc the dextrous Ope-
lator of the Royal Society. I deny not* that* by
virtue of a ftandard to eftimate moifture by, I have
endeavour'd to remedy this inconvenience .;. bur,
as my hopes were but fmall, fo neither was my
fuccefs great , but I am not fare, that happier
Wits, or I my felf at fome other and luckier time*
may not more profperoufly attempt it* In tha
mean while perchance you will not think it al*
together nothing, if the Trifle I prefent you per-
form at leaft fome of the things denYd in a
Hygrometer lefs imperfe&ly, than any you have
yet met with* And that you may not "be dif-
courag'd by what I have lately acknowledge of
the defers of fuch InftruraentSi I think it now
feafonable to proceed to the mention of the, par-
ticular Ufts, for which, notwithstanding any in*

evka-

Utilities vfHjgrofcopes. 1 3

evitablc- defeats., a Hygrofcope, and even iuch a
one as I now prefent you , may be made ea%

to ferve.

tl S E I.

To knw the differinl Variations °f Weather in the
fame Month-, Day and Hour*

IT may be ufefu! for divers purpofes,to know both
that the Air is wont to be Jefs moift atone part of
the Artificial Day (and fo of the Night,) than at any
other, 6c at what particular time of the Day or Night
it moft uftully is fo. And on this occafion I remem-
ber, that ufually when the Weather was at a ftand, it
wasobferved, that the Spunge had manifeftlygain'd
in the Night, though it were kept in a Bed-cham-
ber, and grevy lighter again between the. morning
and noon. This Obfervation which was made„to-
wards the end of Winter would not hold , in c^t
froity nights or fome other powerful Caufe inter-
vened. 3Twere not amifs alfo to obferve, Whe-
ther there be nor a C jrrefpondence betwixt the h'y-
grofcope and Barofcope • and, if there be, in what
kind of Weather or Coniticution of Air it is moft
or lead to be difcerned. And this enquiry, feems
the more dubious, becaufe the fame changes of the
Atmofphere may, upon differing accounts, have ei-
ther the like , or quite contrary, operations upon
thefe two Initruments. For in Summer when the
Atmofphere is usually heavier, the Hygrofcope is

M ufually

14 A 'Brief Account cf the

ufually lighter > fome ftrong Winds, as with us the
North-weft, may make both the Atmofphere and
Barofcope lighter, whereas Southerly Winds, efpe-
cially if accompanied with rain, often make the At-
mofphere lighter and the Spunge heavier* And on
the other fide I obferve , that Eafterly Winds,
efpecially when they begin to blow in Winter,
though, by reafon of their dryncfs, they are wont
to make the Hygrofcope lighter , yet they are
wont, at lead here at the Weft-end of London, to
make the Barofcope (hew the Air to be heavier.
It were likewife fit to be obferved particularly by
thofe that live on the Sea-coaft, Whether the daily
ebbing or flowing of the Sea, do not fenfibly alter
the weight of the Hygrofcope. It were very well
worth while alfo to take notice, at what time of the
day or night, cater is paribus, the Air is the moft
damp and moft dry, and not only in feveral parts of
the fame day , but in feveral dayes of the fame
month ; efpecially on thofe days , wherein the full
and new Moons happen. And this feems a more
hopeful way of difcovering , whether the full Moon
diffufes a moifture in the Air , than thofe Vulgar
Traditions of the plumpnefsof Oyfters and Shell-
fifh, and brains in the heads of fome Animals , and
of Marrow in their bones, and divers other Phtns*
men*, which, as I have (hewn in another paper, 'tis
not eafie to be fure of. It may alfo be noted, whe-
ther Monthly Spring-tides, efpecially when they fall
out near the middle of March or September, have
any fenfible operation upon our Inftrument*

USE

Vtilities ofHjgrofcofes. 15

U S E II.

To kpow how -much one Tear and S-eafon it dryer or
moifter than another*

THis cannot l)e fo well peiform'd by the My-
grofcope made of an Oaten beard, if they,
that have made ufe erf them more than I, do com-
plain with reafon, that after foaie months ( for I
cannot tell you precifely how many j they begin to,
dry up and (brink y fo thac their fenfe cf the varying
degrees of the moifture of the Air is not fo quick
as before, and the informations they give of the
degrees of ir, especially towards the outmoft bounds
0? their power to ijhew the Air's alterations, recede
more and more from Uniformity. Bat the lafting-
nef$ and other convenient qualifications, of our,
j Spunge making its capacity of doing fervice more
durable^ may the better help us to compare the
[ greateft moitiure and drynefs, both of the feme fea-
ion, and ot the feafons of one Year with the corra*
fpondent ones of another,. And if the Weight of the,
Spunge at a. convenient time, when the temperature
pf the Aii is neither confiderablymoift,, nor confr*
derably dry, be. taken for a Standard,. a perfdn thai;
ihould think.it worth his pain.s, may, by .computing
how many dayes at fuch an hour, .and how much ac
that hour, it was heavier or lighter than the ftandard,
andajfo by comparing the refill t of fuch an account
in one year with the, refult of tke like account in
another year, be affifted to make a more particular
ind near ertimate of the differing temperature of

m i til

\6 A Brief Account of the

the Air , as to moifture and drynefs, in one year
than in another, and in any correfpondent feafon
or Month, affigned in each of the two years propo-
fed. And how much the Collation or Continuance
of fuch Obfervations , both in the fame place and
alfo in differing Countryes and Climates, may be of
ufe to Phyficians in reference to thofe Difeafes,
where the moifture and drynefs of the Air has much
intereft *, and the Husbandman to fore-fee what fea-
fens will prove friendly or unkind to fucb and fuch
Soils and Vegetables ; it muft be the work of time
to teach us, though in the mean while we have no
reafon to defpair, that the Ufes to be made of fuch
Obfervations may prove considerable. And the
rather, becaufeifby help of therefult of many Ob-
fervations men be inabled to forefee ( though at
no great diftance off) the temperature of a year, or
even of a feafon, it may advantage not only Phyfi-
cians and Plow-men, but other ProfefTions of men,
who receive much profit or prejudice by the drynefs
or excefllve moifture of the feafons. And not to
mention thofe who cultivate Hops , Saffron , and
other Plants that are tender and bear a great price ;
fuch a fore fight, as we are fpeaking of, may be of
great ufe to Shepherds, who, in divers parts of
England, are oftentimes much damnified, if not
quite undone, by the rot of Sheep, which ufually
happens through excels of moifture in certain
months of the year. And in order to the providing
of foundations whereupon to build Predictions,
it may not be amifs to regifter the number, bignefs,
and duration of tlie confiderabler fpots, that may at
this or that time of the year happen te appear or
be difltpated on or near the Sun, or to take notice

of i

Utilities of Hjgr of copes . 1 7

of any extraordinary abtence of them , and to ob-
ferve whether their apparition o* ditfipation produce
any changes in the Hygrofcope : Which Curiofity
I fhould not venture to propofe, but that ( as I elfe-
where note ) I find, that eminent Aftronomers have
cafjally obferved great dryneffes to attend the ex-
traordinary abfence or fewnefs of the Solar Spots.
And thofe perfons that are Aftrologically given,
may, if they pleafe , extend their Curiofity in the
life of this Inftrument to ob ferve, whether Eclip'es
of the Sun and Moon , and the great Conjunctions
of the Superiour Planets^have any notable operation
upon it.

USE III.

To difcover & compare the changes of the Temperature
of the Ait made by Winds) flrong or reeal^ ; frofiy}
(nowy, and other Weather*

THis may conveniently en'Qugfcbe done as to
winds, either by our whole Inftruments or
( perhaps better and more fafeiy ) by the Spunge
alone, which may be taken off and hung by a (tring,
for as long time as is thought fit, in the nd , and
thenreftor'd to its former place. \Forl found by
removing it into tht wind, that it foon receiv'd a
very considerable alteration iri point of Weight, as
alfo it did when rernov d out of a room into a gar-
den where the Sun (hin'd j for though the feafon
were not warm, it be^ng then the Moneth of J. :■-..**. i~
ry > yet in three quarters of an hour the fpunge loft
the 24th part of its weight. Wemay alfo interne

U 3 cafes,

1 8 A Brief Account of the

Cafes ufefully fubfliitute to a Spunge a fomewhat broad
piece of good Sheeps-leather difplay'd to the wind.
For this having, by reafon of its tmnnefs (or very
fmall depth, ) in proportion to its breadth, a very
large Superficies immediatly exposed to the wind';
we found it to be notably altered thereby , in fo
much that half an ounce of well prepaid Sheeps-lea-
ther, (that we had longimployed air an Hygrofcope)
being kept an hour in 'a place, where the Sun-beams
might not beat upon it,d^d, in a ftifong wirid,vary in
that (liort time an eighteenth part of its original
weight. But though I think rt very pofTible to make
iuchobfcrvationsofthe Temperature of particular
windsy as ivill.frequently enough prove fo true as to
be ufefuIJ,at leaftto thofethat live in the places
where they are made ; yet I am of opinion, that,
to be able to fettle Rules, any thing general, to de-
termine with any certainty the Qualities of winds
according to the comers whence they blow , as
from the Eaft or Weft, North- eaft, South- weft, &c.
there vyiltbe-a great deal of warinefs requird \ and
he that has not fome: competent skill -in Phyficks
and Cofmography , will • eafily be fubjecl' to
mi ftakes informing his Rules," To- countenance
which advertisement; I {hall now make ufe but of
tjjefe two Confiderations,whereof the firft is ; That
winds that blow ffom the fame Quarter are not in
fome Countryes of the fame Quality that they are
in'moft others, the wind participating much of the
nature of the Region over which it blowes in its
paflage to us. At the famous Port of Archangel
the f obfetve^ that whereas a Northerly wind almoft
every where elfe without the Tropicks produces
(toft in Winter,thereitis wont to be attended with a
thaw, fo as to make the Eeves to drop. Of which

iha,

Utilities ofHjgrofcopesl i 9

the reafon feems to be, that this wind comes over
the Sea which lyes North from that place ; and on
the contrary^ Southerly wind blowing over a thou-
fand or twelve hundred miles of frozen land does
rather increafe the froft than bring a thaw. This
was by the Inhabitants averr'dtothe Ruffian Em-
perors Phyfician, who was more than once at Arch'
angel, and from whom I had the Account. The
Northern windes that are elfewhere wont to be
drying, are faid in Eg) ft to be moift. I remember
Mr Sands, in his exellent Travells , giving a'n ac-
count of what heobferv'd about the largelt of the
fam'd Egyptian Pyramids, has this confiderable Paf-
fagei Tet this hath been 1 90 great a morfei for time to de-
vour yhaving ft vodkas may be probably conjetlnrd^bofit
three thou/and and two hundred years, and now rather
old than ruinom:yet the Northjide mo ft worn by reafon
of the humidity of the Northern Windywhicb here is the
vtoijte/hSznds in Pur chat % Pilgrimage*
And 'tis yet more confiderable to out Lib. 6. Cap,
purpofe what I find related by Mon- 8. Seli. 3.
fieur de Serres in his ufefull book of — ,,
Husbandry, iinceby that it appears, gYkuh.Lib.i.
that even in not very diftant Provinces chap. 7.
of the fame Kingdome the winds that
blow from the fame Quarter may have very differ-
ing Qualities and effefts.. For, fpeaking of the
Changes of the Air in reference to Husbandry in
feveral parts of France, he informes us, that 'tis
obferv'd, that in the Qjarters about Tholcze the
South-wind dryes the ground, and the North gives
rains. Whereas on the contrary from Narbonoe
to Lyons^W ovtzPrwence and Daupbine', thislaft
p*»*-**tipd caufes drynefs, and the other brings

M 4 moift-

20 A Brief Account of the

moifture. And this may fuffice for my firft Cons-
ideration. My Second is this, That the vehemence
or the.fainrnefs of the windes, though blowing over
the lame country, may much diverfify its operation
on the Hygrofcope, and the fame wind, which, when
it blows but faintly, or even moderately, is wont to
appear moiftby theHygrofcope, may, when vehe-
ment or impetuous, make the Inftrument grow
lighter, difcuffing and driving away more vapors
by the agitation of parts it makes in the Spunge,
than is countervail^ by thofe aqueous Vapors that
are brought along with it. But on fuch things as
thefe I have not leifure to iniift,and therefore I fhall
proceed to take notice in very few words of fome
other operations of differing weathers on our In-
strument, and tell you, that" Frofty weather often
made the Hygrofcope grow lighter even at night :
Snowy weather which lafted not long, added fome-
thing to the weight of the Spunge* And it has been
obferved that mifts and foggy weather us'd to add
weight to it, even notwithstanding Froft.

To which may be added an Observation made by
&y Amanuenfis, who having a convenienter cham-
ber than rriine , ( wherein a fire was daily made, )
Was diligent and curious to fet down the changes of
the Hygrofcope that was left in his lodging ; for
this obfervatiqn makes it probable , that a transient
cloud in fair weather may be ( for I fay not, that it
always is ) manifeftlyobfervable by our Inftrument.
For by his Diary it appears, that the 9th. of Sep*
iember being for the moft part a very fair Sun-
ihinyday, though about ten a clock in the morning
the Sun (hone brightly, the Spunge began to pre-
ponderate, which unexpected Pbanomenon made

him

Vtilites of Hjtgrofcopes. a i

him look out at the window, where he difcover'd a
cloud thatdarken'd the Sun, but after a while that
being paft the balance return'd to an tsEquilibriftm*
On this occafion I (hall intimate, that I have more
than once or twice obferv'd, ef^ecially in Summer,
that when the Air grew heavier, the Hygrofcope
either continued at a ftand, 01 perhaps, alfogrew
lighter ; as if, when fuch cafes happen, the Effluvia
that get into the Air, either from the Terreftrial or
fome other mundane globe, were not fit like vapors
to enter and lodge in the pores of the Spunge, and
fb were Corpufcles of another nature, with which
when we find by the Barofcope that the Air is
plentifully fiockt, it may be worth while to obferve,
Whether any, and if any, what kind of Meteor, as
wind,or Rain it felf, or Hail, or in the Winter Snow
or froft, will commonly be fignified and produced.

USE IV.

To compare the Temperature of differing Honfes and
differing Rooms in the fame Hottfe.

AS this is of great ufe both in refpecl: of mens
Health, efpecially if they be of a tender or
iickty conftitution , and in refpecl: of conveniency
for the keeping flefh, fweet-meats and feveral forts
of wares and goods, and even hou(hold-ftuff,that are
fubjed to be indammaged by moift air ; fo it is
readily andmamfeftly derivable from our Inftru-
rnent. For, by removing it into feveral Houfes or
into feveral parts ofthefamehoufe, and letting it

ftand

22 A Brief Account of the

ftand in each a competent time to be affeftedwitb
the tenrperature of 'the Air of that particular place,
we have divers times obferved a notable difference,
as you may guefs by the two or three Notes I met
with among fome oM papers.
cEh. i*. Q Three or four days agoe a piece of fine
Spunge being taken out of a Cabbinet and dipt till it
came to weigh juft half a drachm in a nice pair of
fcales and a warm room , was afterwards remov'd
into a neighbouring ropm deftitute of a chimney,
( and yet within $ or 4 yards of a chimney fel-
dom without fire ; ) This iiatical Hygrofcope, confi-
rming of the fcales and the frame they hung on,
was yefterday night remov'd into the former room,
and the Spunge was found to have gained 3 grains
and an eighth or better, andconfequently more than
a tenth part in reference to its firft weight ; but be*
ing fuffer'd to ftand in this warm room, in lefs than
12 hours it loft a grain and about ? of its former
weight, though the time it ftoodin this room were
for the moft part night and rainy weather. ]

[ We took a piece of very fine Spunge, which
formerly bad weigh'd juft a drachm, but having been
many montns kept in a very warm room where fires
were kept every day,it was grown much lighter j for,
removing it into an upper chamber in a neighbouring
boufe and weighing it in tender Scales, in the Even-
ing 'twas found to want of a Drachm 4 grains and
£ of a grain *, and though there was a fire in the room
and the Scales flood not far from it, yet , in a ftiorc
time, (the day being foggy and rainy,) the Spunge
vifibly deprefs'd its Scale |, and the next morning
was found to want but one grain and a half of a
Drachm, fo that it had gaind about three grains and

*

Vtilites ofEygrofcopes. 23

a quarter,and the following evening, being the fe-
cond of January, it weigh'd one drachm a grain and
almoft half a grain. So that in about one natural
day the Spunge had acquired fix grains from the
moifture of the Air, that is, a tenth part of itsfirft
weight (I mean a drachm ) and a greater proporti-
on in reference to the weight it had the day before*
The third of January, the weather being yet moift,
the weight exceeded two grains, but about 3 or 4 of
the Clock in the afternoon it began tolofe of that
great weight, which diminifhed more by the next
morning, the weather having chang'd that night and
become fqmewhat frofty. ]
• In another paper I alfo find this Note. [The
drachm of a fpunge, that had for divers weeks been
kept in a dry room, was ( January the tenth ) carried
ourinto a room where fire is not woat to be kept,
the weather bejng extraordinarily foggy :This morn-,
ing being brought into the former room , though
now the weather be clear ( yet not frofty) it ap-
pears to b'avegain'd in weight about eleven grains >
yet it foon loft 2 grains by (landing in this room
all the while in the balance. ]

USE

2^ A^rt€ Account °fthe

U S E V.

T'O-olferve in a Chamber the effects of the^pre fence or
dbfencc of a pre in a Chimney or Stove.

THi$ is eafily done, and the more eafilyif the
room be fmall. For in fuch chambers I have
often obferved a moderate fire to alter the weight of
the inftmment, placed at a dittance from if, after it
had been well kindled but a very little while ; but
in wet weather, if the fire were not feafonably re-
newed with frefh fueU the decay of it would, in no
long time, begin to be difcernabte by the Inflru-
ment.

•
*— a*] __^ — , 1 ^ — ... .

•: i .: .

U S E VI.

'To keep a C'hdmher at the fame degree, or at an ajfignd
degree, of Drynefs.

SUppofing the alteration of weight in our fpunge
to depend only upon the degree of the moifture
ef the Air, the laft named ufe will be but an obvious
Corollary of the former. For, if a convenient part
of the Room be chofen for the Hygrofcbpe, and if
be kept conftantiy there, 'tis eafy,by cafting c>nes eye
'on it from time to time, to perceive when 'twill be
reqnifitetoincreafeor moderate the fire, foas to
keep the fpunge at that weight it was of, when the
temperature of the Air of the chamber as to dry-
nefs and moifture was fuch as was defired. I will

not

Vtilities ofHygrofcop.es. 2 5,

rot trouble you with fome fciuples, which I confers
the consideration of this ufe or our Inftrument fug*
gzRzd to me, becaufe I have not now the leifure
to difcufs them. I had thoughts to try, whether and
how far a good Quantity of fait of Tartar or even
dryed Sea-falt, being kept in a clofetor fome clofer
room , might by imbibing leflen the rcoifture of the
Ai> in it , but I did not perfect any obiervation
of this kind. But I will add to what I have already
refened to this fixth Head* that I have fometimes
noted with pleafure,how manifeft and great a change
in the weight of our Spunge would be made, when
the room was wafhed and a good while afcer, not-
withstanding that a good fire was kept in it to haften
the drying of it.

Betides (he hitherto mention'd ufes of our Hy-
grofcope,I know not whether there may not be di-
vers others , and whether we may not,, by a little
altering and helping it, make it capable of fhewing
us fome difference betwixt fleams of differing na-
tures, as thofe of Water, fpint of Wine, Chymical
Oils, and perhaps new kinds of fubftances ( fuch as
we have not y*t taken notice of) h the Air , in
which, I ccnfefs, I fufpe£t there may fometimes be
difperfed ftore of Corpufcles, that I do not yet well
know what to think of* For 1 have more than
once obferved ( not without fome wonder ) the
Hygrofcope not to be affected with the alteration of
weather, anfwerably to what the manifeft conftituti-
ons or variations of it feem plainly to require : Whe-
ther unobferv'd Corpufcles performed this by making
the other fleams in point of :figiire, or fize, incon-
gruous to the minute pores of the fpunge, and fo un-
fit to enter them > or by ditfipating or otherwife

pro-

36 A Brief Account of the

procuring the avolation of more of the watery par*
titles than they could countervail, I nowjexamine
nor. And I am not Jure; but by affociating this in-
ftrument with the Thermofcope , Barofcope and
■ r , fame others that may be propofed,, it
Jnithc g might be fo improved, as to help us to
forefee divers confiderabiethings,that
either are themfelves changes of the Air, or are wont
tobeconfequencesofthem : Asiickly and health-
full conftitutions of the Air both as to Man and Cat-
tle; arid healthful, barren or plentifull feafons in par?
ticular places or Countrys ; and perhaps alfo ftrong
Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Inundations, and their ill
effe&s, efpecially thofe accidents that depend much
upon the furcharge of the Air, with other Exhalati-
ons and moift Vapors, which operate before fenfi-
bly upon our Instrument* and therefore may be diT
fcernableby it a good while before they arrive at that
height that makes them formidable Meteors. And
if it were but the foretelling approaching rain, this
very thing may on divers occafions prove very fer-
viceable,and recommend our inftrument, which often
receives much earlier impreffions from the fleams
that fwim up and down in the Air, than bur fenfes
do , fo that I have been able to forefee a (howt
of rain , efpecially in dry weather , a not inconfi*.
derable while before it fell.

And here I (hould difmifs our fubjecl:, which I
have already dwelt on longer than I deii^n'd, but
that remembring a caution I gave you when I was
fpeakingof winds, I think itbut fit to add two or

three lines, to keep you from being
% tbelll ufe. by that Advettifement difcouraged

from endeavouring to make in the

Vtilities of Hjgrofccpes. aj

general fuch Hygrofcopical obfervations, as may
be redufd to Hypotbefes* For, as I elfewere dif-
cours'd concerning Barometrical Theories , if I may,
fo call them 5 fo I fhall here reprefent concerning
Hygrofcopical ones, that if a Theory or Hypothecs
that is it feff rationale found agreeable to what hap-
pens the moft ufually in obfervation; it ought not
lightly to be reje&ed or fo much as laid afide,
though fometimes we find particular Inftances, that
feem to call it in queftion. For 'tis very poffible, that
the Theory or Hyptbefts may be. as good as a wife
man would require about fo mutable a fubjed as the
weather. And the Caufe afltgn'd by the Hyfotbefis
may really ad fuitably to what that requires,though
a contrary eflfed infue by reafon of that Caufes be-
ing accidentally mattered and overrufd by fome
more powerfull Caufe or Agent that happens foe
that time to invade the Air. As we know that
Tides do for the main correfpond with the moti-
ons of the Moon, ( whofe fbafes are therefore ar-
gued from them, ) and do generally ebb and flow at
fuch times and in fuch meafures as the Theory, that
has been grounded on that correfpondency,requires5
but yet Seamen find, that in this or that particular
harbor or mouth of a River, fierce Contrary winds,
great Land-floods and other cafually intervening
Caufes, do fometimes both very much difturb the re*
gular courfe of the Tides,*nd increafe or leffen thenu

F I NIS,

A NEW

EX PERIMENT

And other INSTANCES
OF THE

EFFICACY

OF THE

AIR'S MOISTURfe

Subjoyn'd by way of

APPENDIX

to His

STATICAL HTGRO SCOPE.

By thie Honourable ROBERT BOYLE.

S&$^H&ftll

L 0 N D 0 N,

Printed by E. F. for E.Davis, Bookfeller
in O&fairdj i6y^.

ADVERTISEMENT.

Tile Author had thoughts of iUufirating the fore*
going Vafer with a Collettion of Hygnfcopical
Obfervations, hut though he fever at times be-
gun Diaries of Occurrences of this Nature, as hk Re*
moves and other Avocations wouldpermit ; yet be fides
that thefe Impediments made him more than once break,
effhis works *fter ^e h*d continued it for a Month or
two or longer j fuch unwelcome Accidents happen d fines
the foregoing TraQ was fent away, that he could not
feafonably recover any competent number of Obferva*
tionti and fears be fhall never recover fome of them ,
which he doubts not to have been , with many better
upon various fubyeUs , floln away from htm Upon
which occafton he thought fit to try , whether the fol-
lowing Paper might not be looked upon as fome amends
for the miffing of thofe Obfervations in whoferoomit
is fubftituted.

(O

£££$&&&$&&&&$$$$£$£

I

A NEW

E XPER.IMENT

And other

INSTANCES'

OF THE

E F f I c A c y of the A I R'S Moifture*

Since it may probably ferve to recommend
Hygrofcopes to you, if that Quality of the
Air, which thefe Inftruments are ufefull
to give us an account of, be made appear
to be more powerful, and have eonfidera-
bier effects, than is commonly believed ; it will not
be from my purpofe to prefent yoft here fome In-
(lances (hat have fed me to think* that the Effects
ofthe/^/7?«Wofthe Air may be coniiderable not
only upon mens Health?, but upon fub;e£ts far lets
tender, and lefs curioufly contriv'd^ than Humane
bodies. Bat I hope, you will eafify believe, that by
the Moifture of the Ait I mean not a^meer and

N a ab*

2 A New Experiment and other

abftra&ed quality, but moift Air itfelf, or rather
thofe humid Corpufcles, ( chiefly of an Aqueous
nature*) that abound, and rove to and fro, in our
common Air.

'■• That the Moifture of the Air may have no final!
influence, and ufually a bad one, upon mens healths,
is that, which, though Experience did not fo often
teach us, I (hould venture to argue from what I
have obferv'd of the operation of moift Air upon
the dry and firmly context parts of Animals, and
even in thofe cafes , where , for want of time or
other Impediments , this Moifture cannot produce
any fenfible degree of putrefaction.

That the skins of Animals may be eafily invaded
by the moift particles of the Air, is the more pro-
bable, becaufe of the numeroufnefs of their Pores,
which may be concluded from cheir hairinefs,or their
fwear, or both. And I formerly obferved to you,
that I found Sheept- Leather to imbibe the moifture
of the Air, and increafe in weight upon it, as plenti-
fully as almoft any Body I expos'd to it.

But to fhew you, that much clofer Membranes,
and which Nature made to be impervious to fuch a
Liquor as Urine it felf, may be affected by the Va-
pours of the Air, Ifhalladd, that having purpofe-
Jy taken pieces of Bladders fine and well blown,
and, as hi as appeared, of a very clofe contexture,
and counterpois'd them in a good balance , I found,
according to expectation, that they would confide-
rabfy increafe their weight in moift , and lofe it
again in dry; weather; fo that I might have em-
ployed the mod membranous part of a bladder (for
I thought not fit to make ufe of the neck or the ad-
ioyning 'part )\o mike a Statical Hygrofcofu

And,

Inftances of the Efficacy^ &c. 3

And, as for other membranes and fibres, I ftiall
have by and by occafion to take notice, that even
when they are ftrongly and artificially wreathed to-
gether into gut-ftrings, they may imbibe enough of
the moifture of the Air to be broken by it> And, I
remember, I formerly told you, that I trtd obferv'd
Lute- firings to £row heavier in moift Air.

And whereas Bones are by all confefs'd to be
the tirmeft and folidett parts of Animals, and as it
were the pillars by which the fabrick is fuftainM ;
yet it feems, that even they may be pierc'd into,
andfenfibly affc&ed, by the moifture of the. Aid
For Irerpember, that having caufed thz Slyliton
of a humane body to befo made by a famous and
very skilful Artift, that,by tbehelp only of {lender
wires artificially order'd,the motions which theNfu*
icles make of the bones of a living body might be
well imitated in the Skeleton, I obferved* that though
in dry and fair weather the flexures of the Limbs
might be readily made, yet in very moift weather
the joynts were not eafily bent, as if the parts were
grown ftiff and rigid j which feera*d to proceed
hence, that moift particles of the Air , having plen-
tifully infinuated themfelves at the Pores into the
Bones? had every way diftended them, and thereby
made the parts bear hard againft one another, (which
they did not at all before) at the Jun&urcs or Arfr
dilations.

But it will be the more readily believed, that the
Moifture of the Air may ope? ate considerably upon
the tencfejr and curioufly contrived Bodies of Men
and otljer Animals, if, proceeding to the Obfem*
tions I chiefly defign, I make it appear, that the
Bioiftning Particles, that rove up and down in the
NS Airf

4 A New Experiment and other

Air, are able to exercife a notable ( and, if I may
fo call ir, a Mechanical ) force even upon Inanimate
and Inorganical bodies : which may well fuggeft a
fufpicion, that H)grtfcnfes being the proper Inftru-
ments to difcover a Quality in the Air , whofe effi-
cacy reaches farther than is commonly taken notice
of, they may in time be foiwd ufeful to divers other
purpofes, befides thofe that relate to the health of
men.

That #W, efpecially when it has been feafon'd,
is a Solid of a (hong and firm contexture, if it
were not obvious by the daily ufe made of it in
building Ships, Houles,^. might be eafily con-
cluded from the weight or force requir'd to alter
its contexture by making any considerable, or per-
haps fen (ible, ComprefTion of iu And yet, that
Wood may furTer a. kind of divuftion of a multitude
of its parrs, and be manifeftJydiftended by aqueous
Covpufdes getting into its Pores, I remember, I
proved by this Experiment. I got a piece of found
and feafon'd Wood of about an inch ( or an inch
and half) in Diameter, to be by a skilful Artift
made Cylindrical, and alfo a ring of Tome folid mat-
ter, as Brafs or Ivory, to be exactly turn'd to fit
this Cylinder, fo that it might without much eafe,
or much difficulty , be put on and taken off again ?
Then we put the tarn'd piece of Wood into fair
Water, and left it to foak there for many hours ;
at the end of which it was vifibly fwell'd, and
though I cannot now tell you, ( for want of a Pa-
er concerning that Experiment,) hm much it was
jncrt.qs'd in Diameter, yet I well remember the
increment wis considerable , and that the ring,
., that was adpfted to it before, was manifeftly too

little

Inftances of the Efficacy, &c. 5

little to be put again upon it, or with its Orificfe to
cover the whole bafts of the diftended Cylinder,
which afterwards being dryed in the Air (hmnk
into a capacity of entring the ring again. And in
this Experiment I took notice , that the great In-
tumefcence of the Wood was not produe'd all at
once, or foon after it was put into the Water , but
it fwelfd by degrees, and lay foaking there many
hours before it arriv'd at its utmoft diftenfion, the
aqueous Corpufcles requiring, it feems, fo much
time to insinuate themfelves fufficiently into the
Wood , which argues, that the internal parts were
likewife affe&ed, though , when even they came
to fwellj they had a good tbicknefs of Wood about
them to hinder their Dilatation.

I expeft you fhould now tell me , that this di-
ftenfion of fo firm a Body was made by Water it
felf, and not by the humid Vapours of the Air. On
which occafion I might reprefent to you, that by
the fweating ( as men commonly call the adhefion
of waterifh drops to the furface ) of poliflied mar-
ble and fome other cold and fmootb Bodies, that
fometimes happens even in the Heat of Summer, if
they be cold, and the ambient Air moift enough »
it appears, that both in hot weather the Air may
be plentifully ftock'd with aqueous Vapours, and
that thefe Vapours need to do no more than con-
vene together to conftitute vifible and tangible Wa-
ter. And on this occafion, if I were fure I had not
told you of it already, I fhould fubjoyn an Experi-
ment which would dete& the Vulgar error of thofe
that think the adhering drops, lately mention'd, to
come from fome internal moifture derived by its
pteflion or percolation from the marble or the
N 4 othes

6 A New Experiment and other

Body they are faften'd to ; and at the fame time X
fliaJl (hew (what is nptwpnnq be imagined) that
in the Heat of Summer jthe Air is furniilied with
invifible and yet aqueous fleams. The Experi-
ment I long fmce try'd in Winter with Snow and
Salt, included in a glafs Veflel, and then put to
diffolve in a balance. But becaufe neither Ice nor
Snow is at all eafie to be cpme by among us in
England in Summer,' and becaufe, at fhat feafon,
the Air in fair weather is prefum'd to be dry as well
as hot, I chofe, within fomedayes of Midfummer*
and in clear Sun-ftiiny weather, to make the follow-
ing tryah

>Ve took a pint glafs-bottle, and having put
into it a convenient quantity of Water f for room
mull be left for the $ait) we plac'd them and four
ounces of beaten $ui Armonuck in one fcale of a
good balance, and a counter poife in the other, and
then, putting rfhe Salt into the Water, lobferv'd,
that though for a while the ^qnilibrium rematn'd,
yet when the frigorjfick mixture had (ufficiently
cool'd the putfide of the Bottle, the roving Vapours
of the Air, that chane'd to pafs along the furface of
t\}Q Veflel, were, by the contact of that cold Body,
arretted, and turn'd into a kind of a dew , which
rrom tjrrje to time made tb$ fcale, that held the glafs,
preponderate more and more, and at length the
drops growing greaoer and greater, ran down in
fmall rivulets the fides of the Glafs, and jn lefs than
an hour, (bymyeftimate,^ the condens'd (teams
amounted to near a dranj , which Weight was after-
wards much increased within about two hours more ;
W hereby it furHciently appears, both that this dew
came frofa without, ( fmce if it had been a tranfuda-r

tion,

Infiances of the Efficacy, &c. 7

eion, it Would not have added Weight to the fcale
that received it,) and that there is even in cleat
Summer weather a vaft numbed of moid particles
difpers'd through the Air, fwce, in about an hours
time, fuch a multitude of them as the Liquor pro-
duct may be fuppos'd to confift of, and may by
Heat be a$ually refolved into, could in courfe come
to touch fo fmall a furface, as that of that part of fo
fmall a bottje which contain'd the frigorifick mixture.
For the reft of the Veffels furface" vas not cold c-
nough to condenfe the Vapours into Liquor. But
to return to what we were faying of Wood fweli*d
by water J becaufe, no^withftanding thefe Confide-
rations, I am willing to aljow, that the Experiment
of the Cylinder does not fully come home to our
purpofe,and that I produc'd it not fo much to pnve
direttly the force of moift Air, as to countenance
what I am about to fay, by (hewing what a fufficient
number of aqueous Corpufcles may do in the foiid
wood they penetrate, I ftiall now add fome inftin-
ces of the force thefe particles may exercife upon
Solids, when they invade them but in the form of
Vapours.

That in this form the multitude, figures, and
motions of thefe insinuating particles may inable
them to difplay no fmall force in their operations on
fome Bodies, we have one Inftance that often hap*
pens, though but feldome reflected on, in the break-
ing of the firings of Mufical Inftruments, firft
brought to a good Tenfiqn, upon the fupervening of
rainy weather. For the caufe feems to be, that the
Vapours that then wander through the Air, insinu-
ating themfelves into thefe firings, ('which the Mu-
fician often forgets to let down or relax after ha-
ving

8 A New Experiment and other

ving skrew'd them up, ) diltend and fwell them*
and thereby endeavour to Shorten them, and tha*
fo forcibly, that they not feldome break with a fmart
noife and great violence,, which, bec-ufe it hap-
pens without any vifible efficient, men commonly
think and fay, that fuch ftri. gs break of themfelves.
Bur, to take no further notice of this popular fur-
S}ize,if we con&Jer how much weight fome of thofe
bigger ftringsf efpecially of Bafe Viols, that have
been obferved to break in rainy weather, will re-
quire to ftrecch any of them to a rupture , you will
eafily be indue'd to think that this operation of the
moid Air exa&s, and iherefore.argues, more than a
languid force.

But here probably you will tell me, that theln-
ftances you expected were concerning Wood,wJiich
is a far folider Body than gut-ftrings. To this I
lay, that the newly recited lnftance belongs direct-
ly to the title of this Paper, and, being above re.
ferr'd to, ought not to be pretermitted. And, as to
your expecting Inflances concerning Wood , I
might content my felf to refer you to what is ob-
ferv'd about the uneafie opening and {hutting fome
doors well ad jufted to the door-cafe in very rainy
weather* But though this Obfervation favours ray
defign, yet I had rarher give you Inftances in wood
pur pofely and carefully feafon'd. And therefore I
{hall now inform you of thefe two things; one
that I found by tryal ( ^s I have elfewhere noted )
that Wood counterpoifed in a good balance would
grow fenfibly heavier in wet weather, and lighter a-
gain in dry i and the others that, to fatisfie my felf
yet further, I consulted an ancient Mufician,towhom
I had oncebeenaDuciple, and a famous Organ-
maker,

Jnjlances of the Efficacy, &c. 9

jnaker , to know whether they had not obfervM
that the wood it feif, &c* of Mufical Inftruments
would receive fuch alterations from the moiftureof
the Air, as might be difcern'd by the Ear? Upon
which inquiries, the Matter of Mafick anfwer'd me,
That though Metalline firings will not change with
the weather like Gut-firings ; yet Virginals ( ioc
inftance ) though furnifiied with wire-firings, wifl
for the moft part of them, (for fome he has obfer-
ved to be fo well feafon'd that they are not alter'd
by the weather,) be out of Ture in wet weather,
the things generally then affording their notes
{harper than they (hould or are wont to do. And the
Organ^maker confefs'd to me, that, upon great
changes of weather, divers Organs would ( after they
had been long ago tuned ) grow out of tune, and thac
not only the woodden pipes would be thereby
fwell'd, but the Metalline pipes untuned.

But if Bodies be of fuch a Conftitution as not only
to admit but affifi the operation of the moift Air,
the penetrancy and efficacy of this may be found
much more considerable than in the fore-going In-
fiances. For there are fome kinds of thofe Marcha-
fites that yield Vitriol, which, whilft they lye under
ground, or are covei'd with the Sea-water , on
whofe fhores they are in fome places to be found,
retain a ftone-like hardnefs, and are often taken for
meer ftones $ and yet fome credible perfons that are
converfant about Vitriol have cafually obferv'd, that
thefe, being expos'd to the Air, would in tracl of
time be fo penetrated by the moifi particles of it,
though perhaps not meerly as moifi, that (probably
by the help of the Vitriolate Corpuicles theyciet
with among the ftony matter) thefe hard and folid

Mar-

io A New Experiment and other

Mai chafites are brought to fwell Co much as to burft.
That this wiH happen to fuch kind of ftones ( though
fhey be of a clofe and heavy nature) by the help of
rain, Experience has perfwaded me, and that it may
alfo happen even to very hard and ftone-iike Mar-
cbafiteS, ( for many are not fuch,) when they are
meerly expos *d to the Air, I am apt to think upon
fome tryals of my own. For from fhining Marcba-
fites, though but kept in my Chamber window,I have
bad Vitriolate prHorefcencies that feem'd to bepro-
.duc'd by the a&ion of the piercing moifture of the
Air upon the Mineral. And \ remernber, that very
hard and heavy lumps that were of a Marchafiticai
fubftance , ( though not at all glittering,) which
feem'd to be ttony, were fo difpbs'd to be wrought
oo by the Air, that though they were kept partly in
my own chamber, and partly in other cover'd pla-
ces, yet in no very long time they were fo penetra-
ted by the moid Corpufcles of the Air, that they
were not only bur ft, but broken into many pieces;
infomuch that many of them did of themfelves fall
off from one another, and fevcral of the divided pot-
lions would eafily be crumbled betwixt ones fingers.
And of fome of thefe I have obferved with pleafure,
that a Vitriolate fubftance was produc'd more copi-
oufly in their innermoft parts t^an on or near their
outfide. So that, when I confider'd how great an ex-
ternal force would have been requifite to make fuck
a Comminution of Minerals fo folid and hard, 'twas'
obvious for me to look upon the Air's moifture, as
capable, when it meets vyith fitly difpos'd Bodies,
to exercife a far grener force than is wont to be
conceived.
To thefe Phenomena I might add fome others to

the

Injlances of the Efficacy , &c. 1 1 ,

the fame purpofe ; but becaufe the Marchafites, and
other Bodies required to the producing of themy are
not eafie to be come by, and the faccefs often exa£s
i good length of time, I (hall conclude this Paper by
fubjoyning a far (hotter Experiment^ that I devis'd
not only to (hew in general, that the moiftureof the
Air may have a considerable Efficacy, but to afllft a
Virtmfo to make fome eftimate in known meafures
of the Mechanical force of the Aerial moifture.
And though I now find to my trouble, that I want
fome of the Notes that concern the Circumftances
and the progreft of the tryal, yet enough having
efcap'd to furnifh me with the following account of
it , what I fhall fet do wn may , I hope, at leaft put
you in the way of repairing my misfortune.

Thinking it then probable,tbat Ropes themfelves
would considerably imbibe and difmifs the moifture
of the Air, and that fo as to flirink in rainy weather,
though clogg'd with a weight faftend at the lower
end, I was not difcougrag'd from attempting the fol-
lowing Tryal, by confidering that the weight would
ftretch the Rope, and confequently hinder'the pre-
furn'd effect of the Air's moifture to be perceived.
For I fuppos'd, that after a time this unufual ftretch
of the Rope would ceafe, and when the weight as
fuch could not lengthen it any more, it would then
be capable of being contracted or relax'd, according
as the weather fhould be moift or dry, and fo afford
me a kind of Hygrofcope. Upon thefe grounds I
firft caused a Rope that was about 20 or 22 yards in
length, but of no great thicknefs, to have one of its
ends faften'd to an immoveable Body at a conveni-
ent height from the ground, and then caus'd a Pully
to &fc fo faften'd to another ftable Body at the dt-

ftancc

iz A New Experiment dndothet

ftance of 18 or 20 yards from thefirft, that the
Rope, retting upon the Pully, lay almoft horizon-
tally. But to the end of that part of the Rope,
wh ch from the Pully reach'd within two or three
foot of the ground, was fatten' d by a Ring a Leaden
weight of at leaf! fifty pound. To which was alfo
faften'd a light /w^a: placed horizontally, whofe end
moved along an ere&ed board, which by tranfverfe
Imes was divided into inches and parts of inches,
reach»ngborh a good way upwards and downwards,
that the Index might within thofe bounds have room
to play up and down according to the alterations of
the weather.

I being then Summer, this Tryal was made in a
Garden, though partly under a Penthoufe , that the
Rope might be more expos'd to the Air than it
would have been within doors •, and two or three
dayes, if I rrufiern ember not the time, were fpent,
before the weight had brought the rope to the ut-
moft ttretch it was able to give it, after Which it be-
gan mam eftly to (hrink and lengthen according to
the weather. And I find in one of my Notes, that
once I look'd, when I was ready to go to bed, upon
thefufpended weight, and mark d how low it reach'd
npon the divided board » and that a great part of the
night having been rainy, looking again about half an
hour after eight in the morning, , I found the Cord fo
fluunk, that the weight was raised above five inches,
and yet the day growing dry and windy, and fome-
times warm, the weight had at night ftretched the
Rope more than the moifture had Contracted it the
day before.

Afterwards having procur'd a far greater weight,
buttherefore unapt to be near fo itiuch rais'd, I fub-

ftituted

Injlances of the Efficacy &c, 1 3

ftituted it in the place of that formerly mention A
and having fuffei'd it to ftretch the rope as far as it
could, I made and regifter'd fomeObfervations,two
whereof having been preferved, I (hall tranfcribe
them juft as I find them.

Jmetbeyb. At half an hour after nine of the clock
at night, I looked upon the hundred pound weight
that hung at the bottom of the rope, the weather
being then fair, and a mark being put at that part
of the erected board,where the bottom of the weight
touched 9 I perceiv'd the sky a while after to grow
cloudy and overcaft, but witnout rain ; wherefore
going to view the weight again, I found it to be ri-
fen a quarter of an inch or more , and, looking on
my Watch, perceiv'd there had pafTed an hour and
quarter fincethe mark was made.

June the 6th. Being not well ye(krday,the weight
wasobferv'd by two of my ievvants,and it then reft-
ed at the eleventh inch of the erect ed board. This
morning about eight of clock I vifited it my felf,
and found it to be rifen about half a quarter of an
inch above the eighth inch, the morning being clou-
dy, though the ground very dry and dufty. The
weather being more overcaft, within fomewhat lefs
than an hour afterwards I vifited the weight again,
(ibme fcatter'd drops of rain then beginning to fall,)
and.found it to be rifen about half an inch above the
newly mention'd eighth mark. How much more
the rope tfould have been contracted in fuch lading
moift weather, as dually happens in Winter, I
cannot fay, having been reduced to break off the
Experiment, upon a removal, I was, long before
that feafon^ dblig'd to make.

I

i4 A New Experiment, &cc.

I am forry I cannot add my other obfcrvitions,

but thefe I hope may fuffice to Jet you fee , that

the force of the Air's moifture is not fmall, fince it

could raifefuch a weight as. an hundred pound, e*

fpecially confidering the flendernefs of the rope

it affected- For having meafur'd the Diameter

9 % . near the weight, Hound it ( as one

Two4 rs and of m Notes informs me j tQ

tdecma/parts bebut ^ ^ ^d part£faR
°frt> Inch.

FINIS. 4 wi*

«.:

•

fi